The Carnegie International is a North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896 in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established the International to educate and inspire the public as well as to promote international cooperation and understanding. He intended the International to provide a periodic sample of contemporary art from which Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art could enrich its permanent collection. History Established in 1896 as the Annual Exhibition, the Carnegie International focused almost solely on painting until 1961. From 1955 through 1970, the show followed a triennial schedule; from 1961–1967, the exhibition was known as the Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture. The first exhibition was selected by Carnegie Museum of Art director John. W. Beatty, on his own; after that, works were selected in consultation with a group of foreign advisory committees and a jury of award. In the first decade, 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. After an interruption due to soaring costs and the construction of the Institute’s new wing, the Sarah Scaife Gallery, the 1977 and 1979 exhibitions were rebranded as the International Series, wherein single artists—Pierre Alechinsky, Willem de Kooning, and Eduardo Chillida—were featured. In 1982, it reappeared under a 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. Chronology 1896–1914 The Carnegie Institute holds the "annual exhibition" for eighteen years, except in 1906, due to museum construction. 1920–1950 Between 1920 and 1950, the Carnegie Institute held nineteen international exhibitions, with a hiatus during the Second World War and rebuilding of Europe. 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.