Established in 1896 as the Annual Exhibition, the Carnegie International was held every fall with few exceptions until the second half of the twentieth century and focused almost solely on painting. By 1955, the show had adopted a triennial schedule and, in 1958, became known as the Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings and Sculpture, a title which remained until the 1970 edition. After an interruption due to soaring costs and the construction of the Institute’s new wing, the Sarah Scaife Gallery, the exhibition resumed in 1977 and 1979 as the International Series, single-artist shows intended as a parallel to the Nobel Prize for the arts. In 1982, it reappeared under its original triennial survey format as the Carnegie International, and has been mounted every three to five years since. After the Venice Biennale, the Carnegie International is the oldest international survey exhibition in the world.
1896–1921
The International was selected by Carnegie Museum of Art director John. W. Beatty, on his own in 1896, and after that, in consultation with a group of foreign advisory committees and a jury of award. The jury of award at this time was composed of artists. The exhibition selection system was two-tiered: some artists were invited to participate directly, shipping their work straight to Pittsburgh and bypassing the selection process, while some were invited to submit works to a selection committee, often at their own expense. Exceptions include 1902, when the exhibition was a historical overview of well-known works by international artists; 1906, when the show was suspended to accommodate the enlargement of the museum; and a five-year hiatus between 1915 and 1919 due to World War I.
1922–1950
The Institute’s second director, Homer Saint-Gaudens, instituted a new streamlined system whereby foreign representatives scouted promising works for his annual trips to Europe. Juries of award still included artists, but museum directors also served. Saint-Gaudens instituted the display of works by country during these years and introduced the Popular Prize, voted upon by the public, in 1924; he retired after the 1950 show. Exceptions include three domestic shows mounted by assistant director John O’Connor during the WWII years, while the director was in the military, American Painting, 1940; Directions in American Painting, 1941; and Painting in the United States, 1943-1949.
1951–1962
Gordon Bailey Washburn maintained his predecessor’s use of foreign advisors, but dropped nationality as the organizing structure. He organized four Internationals, which were distinguished from larger competitors in press materials as the only international survey curated by a single person, “one man’s view of contemporary art” in a few hundred works. Concurrent with the 1958 International and in celebration of the Pittsburgh bicentennial, his assistant director, Leon Arkus, organized a retrospective exhibition including 95 paintings from previous editions. That year, Marcel Duchamp and Vincent Price sat on the jury of award.
1963–1969
The 1964 and 1967 Internationals were organized by the Museum’s fourth director, Gustave von Groschwitz in consultation with seven national correspondents based in Europe, who he referred to as “informal co-jurors.” Von Groschwitz returned to a nationality-based display structure and did away with numbered prizes, opting for six equal awards and several purchase prizes.
1970–1979
The 1970, 1977, and 1979 Internationals were organized by fifth director, Leon Arkus. Arkus eliminated prizes for the 1970 show, and switched to a single-artist, retrospective format for the 1977 and 1979 shows, awarding a $50,000 prize each of those years.
1980–2008
John R. Lane became director in 1980, but hired curator Gene Baro to organize the 1982 International. This format has remained in place through all of the successive editions, with a twist in 1985, when Lane co-curated the exhibition with John Caldwell. All the curators since 1980, with the exception of Baro, have relied on the advice and/or assistance of advisory committees which also served on award-granting juries. The committees were most directly involved in the 1985 and 1988 shows, when the advisors were considered part of the curatorial team. The International was organized by John Caldwell in 1988; Lynn Cooke and Mark Francis in 1991; Richard Armstrong in 1995; Madeleine Grynsztejn in 1999; Laura Hoptman in 2004; and Douglas Fogle in 2008. Advisory committees in recent years have been composed of other curators, critics, and artists; committee members also participate in the jury of award, alongside the museum director and select trustees.
