USIA Copy 3 of The Family of Man presented to the Government of Luxembourg [1965]
Citation
United States Information Agency. [Transfer of USIA exhibition Copy 3 of The Family of Man to the Government of Luxembourg for permanent display at Common Market Headquarters, Luxembourg, 1965.] [Archival record: NARA RG 306. Specific document not accessed this session.]
Tier justification
Tier 1: This is a USIA/US Government archival event (NARA RG 306 series for USIA records). The underlying primary documents (diplomatic correspondence, transfer agreement) would be in NARA RG 306 — not consulted this round. The facts below derive from the CNA Steichen Collections website (fetched 2026-04-30) and Wikipedia’s Family of Man article (fetched 2026-04-30), both of which cite the institutional transfer.
Relevance
The USIA world tour of The Family of Man operated through multiple copies of the exhibition circulating simultaneously. Copy 3 (second European tour) circulated 1957–1965. At Steichen’s request, Copy 3 was not dispersed at the end of the tour but was instead presented to the Government of Luxembourg for permanent display. This marks the conclusion of the USIA touring phase and the beginning of the exhibition’s permanent installation history in Luxembourg. The physical object that now resides at Clervaux Castle is derived from this transfer.
Key excerpts / pages
Facts confirmed via:
- CNA Steichen Collections website (steichencollections-cna.lu/eng/collections/1_the-family-of-man), fetched 2026-04-30:
- “the US Government donates the last complete version of the travelling exhibition to Luxembourg” — dated to the 1964–1966 period.
- “Edward Steichen visits his native country and expresses his wish for The Family of Man to be exhibited permanently at Clervaux Castle” — also within this period.
- Wikipedia article on The Family of Man, fetched 2026-04-30:
- Copy 3 “Circulated 1957–1965 and at Steichen’s request, this version of the exhibition was presented to the Government of Luxembourg for permanent display at Common Market Headquarters, Luxembourg, 1965.”
- Other copies: Copy 1 “Dispersed 1962”; Copy 2 dispersed 1963; Copy 4 dispersed 1962.
- Web search results (fetched 2026-04-30) citing CNA and related sources:
- “at Steichen’s request, this version of the exhibition was presented to the Government of Luxembourg for permanent display at Common Market Headquarters, Luxembourg, 1965.”
Notes
- NARA RG 306 records (diplomatic correspondence, transfer agreement) NOT consulted this round. This entry documents the institutional fact of the transfer but cannot quote primary documents.
- The year is given as 1965 in Wikipedia’s Copy 3 entry; the CNA website places the donation in the “1964–1966” window. The most specific figure from Wikipedia (1965) is used as the year field; the broader window is noted here.
- Flagged
verified: falsebecause primary NARA documents were not accessed this session. - Cross-references:
src-moma-1955-catalog,src-steichen-1963-life,src-cna-fom-steichencollections. - A partial exhibition ran at Clervaux Castle 1974–1989; permanent installation established 1994 (confirmed via CNA website, fetched 2026-04-30).
-
Steichen’s 1966 visit to Luxembourg (where he expressed his wish for Clervaux as the permanent location) is documented in
src-steichen-1966-luxembourg-visit. - Perspective note. This entry follows the institutional/biographical framing (Steichen’s personal wish; Government-to-Government transfer). For the Cold War cultural-diplomacy reading — in which the USIA tour and its terminal donations are read as part of a US liberal-internationalist soft-power program — see Turner 2013 (
src-turner-2013, in repo, chapter “The museum of modern art makes the world a family”) and Stimson 2006 (src-stimson-2006). - Cross-reference:
src-turner-2013,src-stimson-2006.