Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture brings together more than 70 works across continents and millennia, including some never before on view in the US

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art presents Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture, the first exhibition to consider the fragment as an artistic concept across place and time. Breakage has always been a part of the history of art. Time, natural events, war, devotion, and even artists themselves have transformed sculptures into fragments that hold their own distinctive power. For millennia fragments have captivated viewers, revealing their fascinating histories while eliciting a range of complex responses—from awe to curiosity to empathy.

Featuring more than 70 works from over 50 lenders, including many that have never been on view in the United States, the exhibition brings together sculptures from the ancient world to today and represents a broad range of artistic traditions and geographies. Broken opens in the United States at the National Gallery on March 13, 2027, and will remain on view in the West Building through June 27, 2027, following its presentation at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy.

“Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture considers the unique emotional responses and creative impulses prompted by fragmented sculptures, a familiar yet intriguing form present throughout history,” said Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art. “This ambitious exhibition would not have been possible without our close collaboration with the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the extraordinary generosity of public and private collections around the world. They have entrusted us with some of their most beautiful and extraordinary objects, a testament to museums’ role as sites of preservation as well as repositories for the important histories behind objects both broken and whole."

The exhibition features rare loans from major public collections, including the British Museum in London, the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum in Athens, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The fragments on view span the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Japan, Mesoamerica, Mesopotamia, and Rome, and extend through the pre- and early modern cultures of Cambodia, China, Indonesia, France, Germany, Mali, Mexico, and Peru. The exhibition concludes with works by modern and contemporary artists, including El Anatsui, Huma Bhabha, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brâncuși, Camille Claudel, Alberto Giacometti, Geumhyung Jeong, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Paul Pfeiffer, Auguste Rodin, Danh Vo, and Fred Wilson.

"Among the ways fragments exert their power is by making us think about the vastness of time and the passage of cultures. Many of the fragments in Broken have been carefully selected to do just that, representing extraordinary survivals from the distant past that carry us into the present,” said C. D. Dickerson III, cocurator of the exhibition and dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art.

“We are very grateful to the contemporary artists who are showing their works in Broken, many of whom made their own selections. Their contributions powerfully demonstrate how the fragment is a way to both reflect on the ruptures of the past and imagine new and generative futures,” said cocurator Andrew Sears, associate curator of northern European paintings at the National Gallery of Art

Broken unfolds through thematic sections that examine the forces that have rendered so many sculptures broken across time, and the resonances that the resulting fragments have held for viewers. The opening galleries introduce viewers to the visual and expressive power of the fragment. Visitors will first encounter the famous right hand of a colossal statue traditionally identified as the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 330 CE), an unprecedented loan from the courtyard of Rome’s Capitoline Museum. Another highlight is a rare life-size sculpture of a scarified woman (c. 200 CE) from the ancient city of Tamtoc in north central Mexico, discovered in 2005.

The next section examines how natural forces have taken their toll on sculptures, both gradually, through environmental processes like erosion, and suddenly, through cataclysmic events like earthquakes and floods. Among the exhibition’s most striking objects is a Greek statue of a boy, possibly a wrestler, dating to the early 1st century BCE. It was recovered in 1900 from an ancient shipwreck after resting on the seafloor for two millennia, and it has never before been exhibited in the United States. Another highlight is a wood sculpture of Christ carrying the cross from late 14th- or early 15th-century Tuscany. Swept away in the catastrophic flooding that devastated Florence in 1966, it was later found downstream on the bank of the Arno River. Its precise origin remains unknown. This section also features a contemporary work by Cannupa Hanska Luger (enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold [Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara] and Lakota): a pair of ceramic bison skeletons that reflect on the species’ near-extinction and its effect on the environment and inhabitants of the Great Plains.

The exhibition then pivots to focus on acts of iconoclasm—the destruction of objects driven by religious or political beliefs, often marked by instances of protest, violence, or regime change. On view in the National Gallery’s presentation is Joseph Wilton’s Tail from the Equestrian Statue of King George III (1770–1776), which reflects political protest from the early days of US independence. Part of a larger display on the history of equestrian statues, the fragment comes from a colonial-era equestrian statue of the British monarch, which was dismantled in 1776 during the American Revolution. This work is placed in conversation with fragments from the earliest surviving bronze equestrian statue of a ruler (c. 320–270 BCE), which was originally installed near the Athenian Agora and has never been exhibited outside Greece. Another highlight in this section is the fragmented torso of an Akkadian ruler (c. 2300–2250 BCE), probably attacked by political opponents, which has never been exhibited publicly before.

Another group of objects demonstrates the effects of war and vandalism from antiquity to the modern era. Among the highlights are two works from German collections that were severely damaged during World War II: a monumental grave figure (c. 1000–800 BCE) excavated at the archaeological site of Tell Halaf in Syria and a gothic Pietà from a Prague workshop (c. 1380), of which only the heads of Christ and the Virgin Mary survive. This section also explores efforts to repair objects destroyed by violence. One example is a 10th-century statue of the Hindu god Rama. Sawn from its base during the Cambodian Civil War, it was sold on the art market, but in 2016 it was returned to Cambodia and reunited with its original pedestal.

The exhibition concludes by exploring how artists throughout history have embraced fragmentation as a creative and generative act. Works in this section range from premodern sculptures of individual body parts that convey expressive gestures or are charged with devotional power; to figures that were sculptued through acts of breakage; and works by contemporary artists responding to the fragment as an artistic concept and form of social commentary. One notable work, a terracotta figure by Michelangelo, appears to have been deliberately modeled as a fragment, thus in emulation of the many fragments of ancient sculpture being discovered in Italy during the Renaissance. Among the modern and contemporary artists featured are Huma Bhabha, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Paul Pfeiffer, Alina Szapocznikow, Danh Vo, and Fred Wilson. Geumhyung Jeong’s mixed-media installation Removed Parts: Restored, first shown in 2021 and reimagined specifically for the National Gallery’s presentation, brings together medical and mechanical parts to explore the contemporary body as an assemblage of interchangeable components.

Exhibition Tour

Fondazion Palazzo Strozzi, September 25, 2026–January 24, 2027
National Gallery of Art, Washington, May 13–June 27, 2027

Exhibition Organization and Support

Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence. Leadership support for the exhibition has been provided by Laura and John Arnold. The exhibition is also made possible through the generosity of the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund, the Richard C. von Hess Foundation, and Daniel W. Hamilton. Additional support is provided by the Annenberg Fund for the International Exchange of Art.

Exhibition Curators

The exhibition is curated by C. D. Dickerson III, dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, and Andrew Sears, associate curator of northern European paintings, both from the National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with Arturo Galansino, director general of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi.

Accompanying Publication

Published in conjunction with the University of Chicago Press, the 280-page illustrated book that accompanies the exhibition explores the enduring fascination with broken sculptures through a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. It features contributions by scholars and artists, together with a lavish program of images illustrating fragments from the third millennium BCE to the present. Organized in three sections, the publication investigates what makes fragments so intriguing and the act of breaking itself, exploring the forces—both natural and human—that shaped these objects, the power dynamics of iconoclastic dismantling and defacement, and how various cultures treat broken statues. The book concludes by considering one of the most powerful ways humans have responded to fragments over the course of history: by creating new works that are intentionally fractured.

In the Library: Ode to the Broken

In conjunction with Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture, the National Gallery of Art Library presents an installation that is a visual meditation on art and architecture transformed by damage, destruction, or theft. It will examine the ways in which the works and places have been broken and, in some cases, transformed by their breaking.

The installation showcases rare photographs and photographic albums, stereoviews, prints, and rare books depicting art and architecture from around the world, including the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Mérida Cathedral in Mexico, temple sculptures from Nara, Japan, Roman ruins, the environs of the World Trade Center, and modern art that riffs on the meaning of broken. Visitors to the exhibition can follow Alexander the Great as he enters Babylon, visit a raucous dinner at a table in 17th century Flanders, witness theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and glimpse various scenes from World War II, all representations of the universal experience of transformation.

Curated by Molli Kuenstner, image specialist for northern and central European art at the National Gallery of Art, this installation is on view from April 5 through June 25, 2027, in the East Building Library and Study Center from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

About the National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, is the nation’s art museum, home to a renowned collection of over 160,000 works of art, from antiquity to today. Each year, the museum welcomes millions of people in person and online to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Located on the National Mall, admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.

About the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi

The Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is one of the leading international cultural institutions and a key reference point for the Italian art scene, housed in an icon of Renaissance architecture. Its exhibition program ranges from major shows devoted to old masters and modern art to site-specific projects and exhibitions by internationally renowned contemporary artists, such as Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramović, Anselm Kiefer or Anish Kapoor. Within this ongoing dialogue between past and present, Palazzo Strozzi is a place of artistic production and research, guided by innovation and accessibility for the public.

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Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, September 25, 2026–January 24, 2027
National Gallery of Art, Washington, March 13–June 27, 2027

For millennia, broken sculptures—or fragments—have captivated viewers and been admired for their ability to elicit a range of responses, including awe, curiosity, and empathy. As visually alluring as they are emotionally challenging, fragments bear witness to the histories they have endured, histories of violence, war, conquest, and upheaval. Broken: The Power of the Fragment in Sculpture is the first exhibition to consider the fragment as a transhistorical and transgeographical concept. The exhibition brings together more than 70 works from over 50 lenders worldwide, including several that have never been on view in the United States. Following its presentation at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, from September 25, 2026, to January 24, 2027, Broken will debut in the United States at the National Gallery of Art in March 2027.

Broken frames the fragment as a category of sculpture in its own right. After considering why fragments provoke such powerful responses, the exhibition will explore the many forces responsible for breakage and the lessons they teach. Visitors will be led through thematic sections that engage a wide range of objects, geographies, and moments in history. One section will focus on acts of iconoclasm, or the destruction of objects driven by religious or political beliefs—from regime changes in ancient Mesopotamia to the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe and the American Revolution. Another will examine sculptures affected by war and vandalism, with examples from ancient Egypt and Greece, as well those impacted by more recent events, including World War II and the Cambodian Civil War. The exhibition will also look at how natural forces have left their mark: sculptures gradually eroded over time will be displayed alongside those suddenly altered by earthquakes or floods. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of how fragments have inspired artists to create sculptures meant to be seen as broken—a story that spans from prehistory to today. Among the modern and contemporary artists represented are Huma Bhabha, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brancusi, Camille Claudel, Cannupa Hanska Luger (enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold [Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara] and Lakota), Auguste Rodin, Danh Vo, and Fred Wilson.  

Other exhibition highlights include the fragment of the right hand from the colossal statue of the Roman emperor Constantine (c. 330 CE), which has not left the courtyard of Rome’s Capitoline Museum since being installed there in 1486; a rare life-size sculpture of a woman (c. 200 CE) from the ancient Mesoamerican city of Tamtoc, discovered in 2005 and never before exhibited in the United States; and the remains from one of the earliest known bronze equestrian statues (c. 303–302 BCE), originally installed at the Athenian Agora and never before exhibited outside Greece. Additionally, contemporary artists, including Paul Pfeiffer, have been invited to create site-specific installations for the National Gallery’s presentation of the exhibition.

The exhibition is curated by C. D. Dickerson III, dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, and Andrew Sears, assistant curator of northern European paintings, both from the National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with Arturo Galansino, director general of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi.

Exhibition Organization and Support

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.

Leadership support for the exhibition has been provided by Laura and John Arnold.

The exhibition is also made possible through the generosity of the Buffy and William Cafritz Family Fund and the Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the Annenberg Fund for the International Exchange of Art.

About the National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through its doors each year—with even more online—making it one of the most visited art museums in the world. The National Gallery's renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.