American National Exhibition, Moscow

The American National Exhibition, which took place in the summer of 1959—in the middle of the Cold War—in Moscow, was the largest exhibition the U.S. ever held in the USSR. It was the result of an agreement on mutual cultural exchange between the two countries and was probably the most costly and lavish form of self-portrayal the U.S. has ever undertaken on an international level.

1959

Richard Barringer, Charles Burnett, Lucia DeRespinis, Dolores Engle,
Phil George, Albert Woods, et al., associates at George Nelson's office

Crowds of visitors in front of the Buckminster Fuller Dome. Between the masts, the official logo of the exhibition, designed by Don Ervin of the Nelson office.

George Nelson sitting in a Coconut Chair and writing in his log. Herman Miller was one of the enterprises whose products were shown at the exhibition.

George Nelson asked Charles Eames to join the exhibition project in November 1958. In their following correspondence and at later meetings—here in Nelson's office—the two discussed the installation of the Buckminster Fuller Dome and the arrangement of screens for the projection of Glimpses of the USA. In the end, the construction for the suspension of the seven screens was developed in Nelson's office by William Katavolos.

A meeting in Nelson's office. From left to right: Phil George, staff member of the Nelson office; Harold McClellan, general manager of the American National Exhibition, who led the negotiations with the Russians on behalf of the United States Information Agency; Eugene (Rocky) Staples, deputy general manager of the exhibition; and George Nelson, sitting on his desk.

Charles Eames and George Nelson "help" set up mannequins in the Jungle Gym.

Floor plan of the American National Exhibition in Moscow. In the middle of the dome, above and below, the three exhibition halls formed by the umbrellas. Left of that, forming a semicircle, the Welton Becket Pavilion.

Nelson's colleagues, Dolores Engle and Albert Woods with a large, dismountable model of the Jungle Gym, which was later shipped as a three-dimensional construction manual to Moscow.

Several partial models of the Jungle Gym were built to illustrate how exhibits and photos could be presented in the space.

View from the Buckminster Fuller Dome towards the Welton Becket Pavilion.

Presentation of Glimpses of the USA by Charles and Ray Eames in the Buckminster Fuller Dome.