UNESCO’s colour reproductions project: Bringing (French) art to the world

The Colour Reproductions project was one of the first projects UNESCO undertook upon its ratification in November 1946. The reproductions were sent framed, accompanied by wall panels, and, as Peter Bellew, head of the Arts and Letters Division at UNESCO, indicated, “absolutely ready for hanging”; the whole show was “specially packed so that it may be easily dismantled and assembled for exhibition in art galleries and educational institutions.” UNESCO is perhaps the last place one would expect to find state power exerting itself, but from its very beginnings the French used UNESCO to extend their cultural influence and “advance specific components of its cultural policy” worldwide. A comprehensive history of colour reproduction has yet to be written, but it is clear that UNESCO’s Colour Reproductions project played a crucial role in profoundly transforming the education, appreciation, and consumption of art globally; however, it was also decisive in reinforcing a particular French modernist canon internationally.