text: Art and artifacts Originally, the WFC made no effort to coordinate art exhibitions at the 1964 World's Fair, and Moses did not wish to subsidize art exhibits on the fairground.  Moses did not want to pay for an art pavilion himself. After commentators spoke about the lack of art at the fair, Moses changed his mind, allowing states to display art in their own pavilions. For example, ten pop artists designed art for the New York State Pavilion's Theaterama. The Fine Arts pavilion displayed 250 contemporary artists' work.
  Foreign nations displayed art and artifacts at the fair as well. Spain displayed works from artists such as Francisco Goya, El Greco, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Diego Velázquez. The United Arab Republic displayed artifacts from several historical eras; the Sudan pavilion displayed a 1,300-year-old Madonna fresco; the Jordan pavilion showcased the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the Republic of China pavilion displayed Chinese jade. The Mexico pavilion displayed art during the 1965 season, including Mesoamerican pieces alongside works by José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo. Though art was also displayed in various gift shops throughout the fair, WFC officials generally only publicized artwork that was exhibited in pavilions.
  There were 95 sculptures at the fair, including five permanent sculptures. Four of the sculptures remain in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park: Forms in Transit by Theodore Roszak, Freedom of the Human Spirit by Marshall Fredericks, Free Form by José de Rivera, and Rocket Thrower by Donald De Lue. Another sculpture, Armillary Sphere by Paul Manship, was vandalized, and the remaining pieces stolen in 1980. The non-permanent sculptures included Pietà by Michelangelo, at the Vatican pavilion, which was one of the fair's most popular exhibits.