Exhibition Narratives Unmask the Real Shame
- Democracy Chain
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
by Liz Goldner
May 2, 2026
Irvine, California
In March 2025, our government posted to its Whitehouse website, “The widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame.” The website also asserts: “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
Eschewing that directive, museums across our country are displaying historically accurate exhibitions celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary or semiquincentennial. Two of these museums are mounting shows that authentically address America’s history and victories, its social changes, immigration as a major force in our culture, issues with indigenous people and those of color, struggles to achieve the freedoms that are at risk today, and much more. These historically oriented museums include the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., exhibiting “Dear America,” and the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, presenting “American Stories: From Revolution to Rockwell.”
“Dear America” (running through September 10, 2026) brings together more than 100 artworks, including prints, photos and drawings, exploring our country’s landscape, its people and concepts of freedom, most from the National Gallery’s extensive collection of American art.
The exhibition’s first section, “Land,” is devoted to the grandeur of the American landscape, referred to as sites of wonder, belonging, survival, and memory. The paintings include the mist-shrouded “Tower at Tower Falls, Yellowstone” (1872) by Thomas Moran; Winslow Homer’s “Hudson River, Logging” (1891-1892), in which two loggers admire the magnificent scenery; the vibrantly colored nine-segment gridded “Grand Canyon” (1977), by Clare Romano; and “The Niagara Cascades” (2024), by Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma).
The paintings are accompanied by the gelatin silver print, “Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska” (1947), photographed by Ansel Adams to advance Alaska’s wilderness as the “most important campaign in which I have participated.” Mitch Epstein’s “Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Six Grandfathers, South Dakota” (2018) was shot with clouds partially obscuring the carved portraits, referencing the controversial history of the monument, as both an example and a symbol of broken treaties, given that the Memorial was built on Native American land.
In the second section, “Community,” Tom Jones’ (Ho-Chunk Nation) painting “My Country, 'Tis of Thee” (2002) portrays an elderly Native American woman overwhelmed by a smiling angelic woman (a stand-in for the influx of white Americans) holding a large American flag over her. Several intense portraits by Sedrick E. Huckaby reveal the emergence of new ways of depicting Black Americans in the 21st century. His textured paint handling viscerally captures the emotions of people historically considered marginal, now aspiring to and often achieving entry into the middle class. Included also in this section is “The Family” (1976) series by Richard Avedon. Among his photos of politicians, media moguls and financiers are the more familiar images of Ralph Nader, Andrew Young, and President Jimmy Carter.
The final section in “Dear America” addresses the concept of “Freedom,” starting with depictions of the American Revolution and the Civil War. These are followed by photos by Lewis Hine, “Climbing into America” (1905), a close-up of Italian immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, and Alfred Stieglitz’s “The Steerage” (1907), an overview of immigrants arriving as part of the mass movement of people, “fleeing oppression and seeking new opportunities,” over the four decades leading up to World Way I and the 1924 Immigration Act. Jumping several more decades ahead, Pop Art contextualized Robert Indiana’s “Liberty ’76” (1974–1975), created to celebrate the Bicentennial with the message that freedom is fundamental to our democracy.
“American Stories: From Revolution to Rockwell” (running June 6 to October 10, 2026) will present the history, sweep and scope of Americana from the Revolution to today. The exhibition explores how artists have illustrated our nation’s ideals and its evolution, creating legendary imagery in the process.
Containing more than 250 works, including textiles, ceramics, paintings, prints, drawings and books, “American Stories” focuses on “the power of the image to express our aspirations, argue for social change, educate and entertain the populace, and bring light to dark moments.” The exhibition explains that America as an idea “is shaped, reflected, and honed” through many of these images.
Galleries display historic and contemporary art works, chosen to inspire us to ponder the importance of illustrations contributing to our national narrative. “A Sense of Place” includes a series of works that relate the history of Niagara Falls, from early illustrations of its Indigenous ownership to paintings celebrating its natural grandeur, to images advertising its tourism industry, and finally to the Falls as a source of hydroelectric power.
Images from the World Wars include the familiar James Montgomery Flagg’s “Uncle Sam Wants You for the U.S. Army” (1917), and J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” (1942). More politically oriented images by Tim O’Brien include “Go Back Where Your Came From” (2019), of the Statue of Liberty illustrated from the rear as she waves goodbye to immigrants, and his “Vote” (2020), of a young Black woman encouraging all of us to vote.
Several compassionate paintings by Norman Rockwell, in his typically finely wrought realistic style, express political and social values such as democracy, service and integrity. These include 1943’s “Thanksgiving.” of a young homeless woman warming up food in the chilly outdoors. In “Golden Rule” (1961), a tightly knit group of people representing different religions, races and ethnicities stand harmoniously together, above the words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Rockwell created his final painting, “Liberty Bell (Celebration)” (1976) a few years before he died, “to commemorate the birthday of the nation he had spent his whole life depicting.”
Other topics in this vast exhibition are the natural world, innovation, the equal rights movements, and issues of Indigenous people. Shonto Begay’s painting “Navajo Blue Highway” (2018) focuses on a pickup truck carrying five Native American men and a dog, likely commuting from fields that could be in Gallup, Phoenix or Albuquerque back to their homes after a long day of working on the land. Its thick impasto brushwork, evoking the look of Vincent van Gogh’s nighttime paintings, conveys the intensity and determination of the Navajo people to survive and thrive.
Under the partisan constrictions of the current administration, art exhibition statements can be subject to alterations and to the selective deletion of works. “Dear America” and “American Stories” demonstrate that curators and museum directors can still mount historically accurate displays that stimulate, educate and inspire us while refusing to align with the dicta of administration officials. These courageous exhibitions support our ongoing freedoms and democratic ideals at a time when these values are brazenly challenged.
Liz Goldner is an award-winning art writer based in Irvine. She has contributed to the LA Times, LA Weekly, KCET Artbound, Artillery, AICA-USA Magazine, Orange County Register, Art Ltd. and several other print and online publications. She has written reviews for ArtScene and Visual Art Source since 2009.
For further information: Liz Goldner’s Website.
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