Declassified Documents Shows CIA Funded Wyoming Artist

Have you ever gone to an art gallery and think, “My kid could have done that.” It has come to light that some of the most radically abstract artists were funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.

During the cold war, America wanted to be the best at everything. Thanks to recently declassified documents, we know that the CIA funded the American Abstract Expressionist movement. One of these artists is from Wyoming. He is arguably one of the biggest names to come out of the Cowboy State for fine art paintings.

He was born in Cody Wyoming in 1912. As an artist he had fame during his lifetime. His style became legendary for many reasons. It was in a time when modern art was not appreciated. Even President Truman scoffed at this style.

Now we know the CIA nurtured this art movement. This Wyoming born and other artists like Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. This art to the CIA was a culture bomb to spread this American artistic movement. Even though a lot of people may not appreciate his style, it has left this Wyoming born with a place in the art history books.

This artist embraced the surreal and expressionist movements, and then he molded it into his own style. His most famous paintings were painted by dripping and splashing paint from above. Who is this Cody born painter? Which Wyoming artist did the CIA fund? It was none other than Jackson Pollock.