Overview

The Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, held at the Royal Academy of Arts of London and seven other major venues throughout the United Kingdom in 1944 and 1945, was the first collective display of Brazil's art shown in the United Kingdom and the largest ever sent abroad until then. It resulted from an initiative championed by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry and envisioned by 70 Modernist painters who donated 168 artworks as a contribution to the Allied War effort. Notwithstanding its historical relevance and unmatched scale, this event had never been academically investigated. Through exploring why and how successfully the Brazilian government devoted superlative efforts to this enterprise in the midst of World War II, this book is intended to fill this gap and gain an understanding of a largely neglected public aspect of a deeply studied period of Brazilian foreign policy. The research unearthed abundant firsthand documents to reconstruct the episode, adopting the hermeneutic method and a theoretical framework from the Public Diplomacy and Cultural Diplomacy fields in order to interpret the circumstances that made possible this improbable and challenging endeavour. It contends that the Exhibition was a remarkably innovative action of Public Diplomacy avant la lettre, which aimed at engaging with British society and enhancing the image of Brazil and its culture. Its motivations must be understood within the broader foreign policy, focused on obtaining prestige and repositioning Brazil in the postwar international order, which encompassed the deployment of 25,000 troops to fight in Europe. The research further claims that the initiative was intended and managed to achieve a substantial impact on views about Brazil, by means of conveying a well-planned message.

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9781839989391

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"""It is an original and important contribution to the study of public diplomacy and to the scholarship of Brazilian foreign policy. The book goes beyond anything done in the field so far and introduces a novel and insightful analysis.""--Daniel Buarque, King's College London, UK. “This is a very relevant book for Brazilian Studies in general. The author did a careful and meticulous study of one of the most impactful events for the Brazilian Modern Art and Diplomacy in the 20th century, the Brazilian Modern Art Exhibition in London in 1944. Through a criterios archival work, the author revealed the backstage of the diplomatic negotiations that took place before the works of art arrived in the UK. But it didn’t stop there. It analyzed the impact of this exhibition to the perception of Brazil abroad and for its incipient public diplomacy. Dialoguing art, history, nation building discourses, international relations theory and public diplomacy, this book will definitely impact the studies on these areas, bringing new lights, insights and critical approaches.”-- Vinicius Carvalho, King’s College London, UK. “Hayle has shown great enthusiasm and knowledge in studying this fascinating intersection between the histories of art and diplomacy.”--Michael Asbury, University of the Arts London, UK “""Public Diplomacy on the Front Line"" sheds light on a forgotten chapter of Brazilian history, blending art, diplomacy, and history into a compelling narrative. It highlights the significance of cultural exchange as a tool of diplomacy during wartime and aims to restore the exhibition's rightful place in Brazil's diplomatic and art history. The book combines meticulous research with a personal touch, making it an engaging and informative read for anyone interested in the intersection of art, diplomacy, and history during World War II.”--Andrea Matallana, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina  "

"“Hayle has shown great enthusiasm and knowledge in studying this fascinating intersection between the histories of art and diplomacy.”--Michael Asbury, University of the Arts London, UK “This is a very relevant book for Brazilian Studies in general. The author did a careful and meticulous study of one of the most impactful events for the Brazilian Modern Art and Diplomacy in the 20th century, the Brazilian Modern Art Exhibition in London in 1944. Through a criterios archival work, the author revealed the backstage of the diplomatic negotiations that took place before the works of art arrived in the UK. But it didn’t stop there. It analyzed the impact of this exhibition to the perception of Brazil abroad and for its incipient public diplomacy. Dialoguing art, history, nation building discourses, international relations theory and public diplomacy, this book will definitely impact the studies on these areas, bringing new lights, insights and critical approaches.”-- Vinicius Carvalho, King’s College London, UK. “""Public Diplomacy on the Front Line"" sheds light on a forgotten chapter of Brazilian history, blending art, diplomacy, and history into a compelling narrative. It highlights the significance of cultural exchange as a tool of diplomacy during wartime and aims to restore the exhibition's rightful place in Brazil's diplomatic and art history. The book combines meticulous research with a personal touch, making it an engaging and informative read for anyone interested in the intersection of art, diplomacy, and history during World War II.”--Andrea Matallana, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina   ""It is an original and important contribution to the study of public diplomacy and to the scholarship of Brazilian foreign policy. The book goes beyond anything done in the field so far and introduces a novel and insightful analysis.""--Daniel Buarque, King's College London, UK."

Author Information

Hayle Melim Gadelha has a Ph.D. in International Relations from King's College London. His research focuses on the public and cultural aspects of Brazilian foreign policy.

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