The image is a repeating pattern featuring portraits of a historical figure framed within oval borders. Each portrait displays only the upper body, showing the head and shoulders of the individual in a forward-facing position with slightly turned shoulders. The person depicted has a solemn expression, a prominent nose, narrow eyes, white hair styled in a historical powdered wig fashion, and is dressed in a dark coat with a high collar and a white ruffled shirt. The background has vine-like designs with small leaves, and red shield-like shapes with the word "PEACE" and scales for balance. The year "1776" is inscribed above each portrait.
Edith Magnette, Chintz with Portraits of George Washington, c. 1939, watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite on paperboard, Index of American Design, 1943.8.843

Current Exhibition

Dear America

Artists Explore the American Experience

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    West Building

    West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G23

  • Ticketing Information

    Admission is always free and passes are not required

What does it mean to be American? How have artists examined this question?

More than 100 works on paper show how artists have explored the American experience over the last 250 years through depictions of the country’s landscape, people, and concepts of freedom.  Wide-ranging works include photographs by Carleton Watkins and Carrie Mae Weems; prints by Thomas Hart Benton, Roy Lichtenstein, and Rupert García; and drawings by Thomas Moran, John Wilson, and Tonita Peña.

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Curated by Angélica Becerra, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow; Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of photographs; Rena Hoisington, curator and head of Old Master prints; and Shelley Langdale, curator and head of modern prints and drawings, all of the National Gallery of Art

Sponsors 
Leadership support for the exhibition has been generously provided by the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust

The exhibition is also made possible through support from the Edwin L. Cox Exhibition Fund and Daniel W. Hamilton 

 

Selected works

This is a print of a gas station made with clean, sharp lines and bright colors. The building is angled, with all of the gas pumps on the left, and above them is a large red sign with the word "STANDARD." The pumps are also bright red and appear to have the Chevron logo. The building itself is white, with a flat dark blue roof extending outward to create a covered area over the pumps and a strip of red at the bottom of the building. The background behind the gas station is a vivid gradient of cool blue at the top blending into warm orange at the bottom. Surrounding the print is a border of off-white paper.
Ed Ruscha, Art Krebs, Audrey Sabol, Standard Station, 1966, color screenprint on wove paper, Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Florian Carr Fund and Gift of the Print Research Foundation, 2008.115.257
This drawing displays a woman seated on a wooden stool, with one leg bent and resting on the seat on the stool. The woman has warm, orange-brown skin and thick, curly black hair framing her face. She has large eyes, dark eyebrows, a long nose, and lips set in a neutral expression. She is wearing a pink poncho-like garment with white patterns and what seem to be pink shorts underneath. Her feet are bare. The background is a bright yellow wall with some white trim at the bottom, and the floor is a reddish-brown wooden texture.
John Wilson, Gabrielle, 1975, colored crayon and charcoal on paper, Avalon Fund and Gift of the family of John Wilson in honor of Shelley Langdale, 2022.27.3
This black-and-white photograph shows the Lincoln Memorial from a distance, showing the rows of stairs that lead up to its tall columns. A person stands on the central steps, directly below the large statue of Abraham Lincoln that can be seen between the columns. The person appears to be silhouetted, and we see them only as a black shape in a long dress or skirt, with no other detail visible. On the left, some more people are visible by a dark bush. We can't see them clearly, but they appear to wear a mixture of jackets, shirts, pants, and shorts in various colors, and have their backs to the monument. The sky above is clear.
Carrie Mae Weems, Echoes for Marian, 2014, chromogenic print, Gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, 2021.8.1
This print shows a person seated on a chair with a stylized representation of the American flag draped across their lap. The individual has long, dark hair with white beaded ornaments hanging in it, and light, reddish-tan skin. Horizontal white lines are painted on both of their cheeks, right below their eyes. They wear a cream-colored, robe-like garment over their torso under layered blue and red necklaces. Their hands are placed in their lap, holding a large white feather with black and blue details. The large flag is draped across their legs. On the right, a blue and white object hangs down from the purple-and-black chair they sit on, similar to a thick blanket or animal hide. The background is plain, pale yellow.
Fritz Scholder, Tamarind Institute, Lorillard, A Division of Loews Theatres, Inc., Bicentennial Indian, 1975, color lithograph on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Lorillard Tobacco Company), 2015.19.2595
A wild turkey standing among tall grasses and reeds against a cream-white background nearly fills this vertical, hand-colored etching. The bird’s body faces our right, and its pale, steel-blue, scrawny neck, small head, and short beak turn to look to our left in profile. Pink bulges line the bird’s neck, and its dark eye is wide and alert. A triangular, short, horn-like protrusion over the beak appears to be covered in fuzz. The turkey’s stout and robust body is covered with golden-orange feathers down its back and around the breast. Black and white striped wings are tucked along its body below, and the tawny-brown feathers of its tail fans out to nearly brush the ground. Feathers where the bird’s ribbed and scaly, pale pink and gray legs meet the body are striped ruby red and black. The bird strides to our right on a dirt ground with tufts of plants. The reeds, some of them bamboo-like, fade in the background around the turkey. Text at the top center of the print reads, “PLATE 1.” The artist’s name is printed below the image under the left corner: “Drawn by J.J. Audubon M.W.S.” Printed cursive text across the bottom margin of the page reads, “Great American Cock Male” and block letters read, “VULGO (WILD TURKEY--) Meleagris Gallopavo. A printed inscription under the right corner reads, “Engraved by W. H. Lizars. Edinr.”
William Home Lizars, Great American Cock, 1827, etching and engraving with hand coloring on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.1
This print shows a group of men in a paneled room. The men are dressed in waistcoats, breeches, stockings, and buckled shoes, and they almost all have white hair that curls around their ears. They all appear to have pale skin. Some are standing and gesturing towards a document on a central table, while others are seated on chairs. The room has dark panels and columns that have been shaded in thin, cross-hatched lines.
Edward Savage, Congress Voting Independence, c. 1803, printed 1859-1906, stipple engraving and engraving on heavyweight wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Mary E. Maxwell Fund), 2015.19.598
Michael Jang, Aunts and Uncles, 1973, gelatin silver print, Charina Endowment Fund, 2022.119.2
Tonita Peña, Pueblo Parrot Dance, c. 1935, opaque watercolor over graphite on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Amelia E. White), 2015.19.392
The image contains bold shapes and lines in bright colors. It features an abstract arrangement resembling Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in gray and yellow tones. Above this, a face with a cowboy hat is depicted in pink, white, and blue against a red background. The structured shapes and blocks of color form an abstract portrait that alludes to iconic imagery and pop art styles.
Rupert García, Rupert García, Decay Dance, 1969, color screenprint on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gift of Richard Rodriguez), 2015.19.3025
This print features the head and raised arm of the Statue of Liberty, seen from below against a backdrop of diagonal purple stripes. The shape of the statue has been simplified into geometric planes and shapes. The statue's recognizable features such as the crown and torch are highlighted in vibrant yellow and black, while most of the statue is white. The statue's head and shoulder are on the right side while the arm holding the torch extends upward on the left. The print is surrounded by a border of off-white paper.
Roy Lichtenstein, La Paloma, Los Angeles, People for the American Way, Washington, D.C., I Love Liberty, 1982, color screenprint on Arches 88 paper, Gift of Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein, 1996.56.110

Stories

The image consists of multiple rectangular panels with wavy lines and blocky shapes, creating a fragmented landscape. The colors used are rich earth tones such as reds, blacks, blues, greens, and beige, resembling rock formations and valleys.

Article:  Iconic American Landscapes, Through Artists’ Eyes

Take a road trip from Maine to Alaska through works of art made from the 19th century to today.

The top three-quarters of this horizontal landscape painting is filled with roiling, deeply shadowed clouds that tower over a line of buffalo crossing a grassy meadow below. Small in scale, the buffalo form a line that extends away from us at a diagonal into the distance to our right. Sunlight creates a bright reflection on the stream where the frontmost buffalo crosses, but the other animals are nearly backlit in the raking light. Trees, with branches whipping in the wind, rise along the left side of the painting, and the mountainous landscape to our right is lost in darkness under heavy clouds. The clouds above lighten from navy blue in the lower right corner of the sky to slate blue and white at the center of the painting. Small patches of blue sky are visible between a few breaks in the clouds, and sunlight falls on a cliff-like mountain face in the distance beyond the trees to our left. Another bank of parchment-colored clouds in the upper left corner, closer to us, contrasts with the glimmering light highlighting some of the clouds nearby.

Article:  Artistic Visions of Our Nation’s Nature

See how artists interpret our nation’s natural beauty—from a fluttering Baltimore oriole to a towering redwood tree. 

Events See All

Results

Talks & Conversations:  Artist Talk: Wendy MacNaughton

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Talks & Conversations:  Mitch Epstein, In Conversation with History: Photographing American Culture and the American Landscape

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Registration Required

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The image features a series of horizontal lines and a rectangle filled with star shapes at the top left corner. The flag consists of green and black stripes with a red rectangle in the upper left containing a pattern of blue stars. Below, a more subdued version mirrors the form with tones of gray and white. The composition is set against a textured gray background. On the right is a logo that reads America's 250th in shades of white, red, and blue against a black circle background.

Exhibition:  American Icon

This painting shows a canyon landscape viewed from a high vantage point, with ridges and formations extending into the distance. The horizon is positioned high in the painting, with the light-blue sky featuring soft white clouds. The canyon displays vibrant shades of red, pink, and green, contrasting with shadowed areas in darker shades of blue and gray. In the bottom right corner of the painting, there are some geometric white and blue patterns overlayed on top of the canyon.

Exhibition:  Homelands