I've heard and briefly looked in to the idea that the CIA worked to sell people like Pollock, jazz, rock, and that sort of thing to American and European elite art circles to oppose Soviet Realism and expand America's social influence. Soviet Realist stuff, while heavily influenced by the state and a huge target of censorship, actually shows humanity. Which makes sense to me given that the previous Russian Empire turned out a ton of art that was explicitly about humanity.

I don't have time to go back down this rabbit hole but there are reddit (I know) posts like this that ultimately concludes "The CIA did not create modern art, this claim is flase" No shit Snopes.

Also, I have to include the top comment

This is a super excellent write up. Weirdly enough, I am an art historian/museum educator who has always focused on contemporary public (primarily American) sculpture and I've never even heard of the CIA creating modern art... (probably because I've been in academic ARTH circles where that idea isn't circulated) but to me, it's such a weird idea that an American agency would push for anything other than traditional, conservative European art lol.

Direct quote, emphasis mine. "Pseudo intellectuals" indeed.