Following through on this, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was partially founded by Abby Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller's mother. After she died in 1945, Nelson became involved in it.
When I was an Art major in the 1970s, I knew that Abstract Expressionism was crap. However, it was the style you had better be working in to get passing grades. I also knew that the students who were successful were the students who "played the game."
Turns out the CIA started the Abstract Expressionist movement:
According to the article, the CIA pushed Abstract Expressionism as a way to prove America was more open to free thought than the Soviets.
Rockefeller used his money to pay massive amounts for art that nobody really wanted.
Jackson Pollock, Blue Poles
Why would someone pay millions for this painting? They weren't bidding against anyone! If no one else was willing to buy it, why not buy it at a low price? Well, two things. One, as you pointed out, is money laundering. The second is that no matter how much you detest a painting, if someone is willing to pay a million dollars for it, you'll pay attention. In his book, The Painted Word, Tom Wolfe pointed out that there were three art critics in New York that determined whether a show at the MoMa was good or not. So, the whole thing was a CIA scam.
Now, to the claim the CIA made that it was to combat the Russians. The CIA is a lie wrapped in a deception wrapped in a misdirection. This was part of the CIA plan to fracture the collective mind of America. Concurrent with this was the introduction of LSD on the west coast (read The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test), also by Tom Wolfe. The current pathetic state of fine art is directly traceable to Nelson Rockefeller, the CIA, and the Museum of Modern Art.