ABSTRACT
Displays of the visual arts, whether they were shown as individual works or in a dedicated section or palace, had been a regular occurrence at world’s fairs since their early days. While exhibitions of the art of the so-called old masters became commonplace as of the 1889 Exposition in Paris, the inclusion of contemporary art dates to at least the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. 1 Modernity of these events was formulated by the inclusion of the latest signs of progress found in new technology, inventions and materials, and invited an embrace of the modern in the visual arts too.
