USIA Family of Man world tour: dispersal of copies, 1962–1965
Citation
United States Information Agency. [Records relating to the dispersal of the travelling copies of The Family of Man exhibition, 1962–1965.] NARA, RG 306 (Records of the United States Information Agency). [Specific document numbers not confirmed this session.]
Tier justification
Tier 1: NARA RG 306 (USIA records) is explicitly named in CREDIBILITY.md as Tier 1. The underlying primary documents have not been accessed this round; the entry documents the institutional event using secondary sources that cite the USIA tour record. Upgraded to Tier 1 category pending direct NARA access.
Relevance
The Family of Man toured globally in multiple simultaneous copies managed by the USIA. The wind-down of the tour (1962–1965) is the end of the primary USIA phase and a prerequisite for understanding the Luxembourg donation. The tour dispersal record establishes the final chapter of the original 1955 exhibition’s physical life as a travelling show. Copy 3, rather than being dispersed, was donated to Luxembourg.
Key excerpts / pages
Facts confirmed via Wikipedia article on The Family of Man (fetched 2026-04-30), which cites USIA records and secondary scholarship:
| Copy | Route | Circulated | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy 1 | European circulation | — | Dispersed 1962 |
| Copy 2 | Central America, India, Africa, Middle East | 1955–1963 | Dispersed 1963 |
| Copy 3 | Second European tour | 1957–1965 | Donated to Luxembourg, 1965 |
| Copy 4 | South America, Australia, South-East Asia | 1957–1962 | Dispersed 1962 |
- Total geographic reach: 88 venues in 37 countries (confirmed via CNA Steichen Collections website, fetched 2026-04-30).
- Total viewership: approximately 10 million visitors, 1955–1965 (confirmed via CNA, fetched 2026-04-30).
Notes
- NARA RG 306 documents NOT consulted this round. Dispersal dates drawn from Wikipedia’s Family of Man article (fetched 2026-04-30). Wikipedia cites secondary scholarship; specific primary citations not visible in the fetched text.
- Flagged
verified: falsebecause NARA documents were not accessed. - Cross-references:
src-usia-fom-copy3-luxembourg-1965,src-steichen-1966-luxembourg-visit,src-moma-1955-catalog. - The Sandeen 1995 monograph (Picturing an Exhibition, University of New Mexico Press) contains a chapter titled “The family of man on the move” that likely addresses the tour logistics in detail — NOT consulted this round (archive.org copy access-restricted, confirmed 2026-04-30).