This presentation focuses on individuals we refer to as intermediaries, who played a crucial role in the international promotion and distribution of unofficial visual art from Moscow between 1950 and 1980. The emergence of these intermediaries on the other side of the Iron Curtain, beginning in the 1950s, was closely linked to the cultural politics of the Thaw and the relative openness of the Soviet state during that period.

The export of unofficial artworks from the USSR to countries such as France, Germany, and the United States, as well as the organization of initial exhibitions prior to the emigration of many painters in the 1970s, allowed Soviet artists to gain international exposure despite lacking official authorization from Soviet authorities. These achievements were largely due to the efforts of intermediaries.

These intermediaries fulfilled several key functions: they assessed the quality of artworks, organized art projects that increased the number, frequency, and complexity of art-related transactions, and acted as “guardians” of the contemporary art market. This study emphasizes the specific activities of these intermediaries, moving beyond purely legal or economic perspectives to explore the tasks they performed, the challenges they faced, the knowledge and skills they employed, and the forms of expertise they considered legitimate.

To better understand their involvement in promoting art and to distinguish their roles, we differentiate between intermediaries, mediators, and intermediaries between two cultures. Rather than seeking to define a singular ideal type of intermediary, this research examines how various actors — such as correspondents, diplomats, gallery owners, art historians, and researchers — collaborated and operated as a network to fulfill this role within French, German, and Anglo-Saxon artistic spaces. Based on data collected from private and public archives in France and Germany, as well as interviews with witnesses, this research lies at the intersection of sociology and history and is drawn from a PhD thesis I am currently finalising at EHESS in Paris.