America 250: 4 Art Museums Mark the U.S. Semiquincentennial
On July 4, 2026, the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To honor the occasion, art museums nationwide are mounting exhibitions that explore the country’s path to this defining moment. We look at how four institutions are interpreting America’s history while looking toward its future.
America 250: Common Threads
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville, Arkansas
Through July 27, 2026
“America 250: Common Threads,” organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum, takes a broad and eclectic approach to the American-centered theme.
Historic documents, anchored by an early engraving of the Declaration of Independence, are included, along with ephemera such as a display of hundreds of 20th-century patriotic snapshots, and souvenirs collected from America’s Centennial, in 1876. These personal items bring individual Americans into the fabric of the nation’s story. Emphasis on U.S. ingenuity and handwork, textiles, paintings, toys, and other works from 1776 to the present demonstrates how artists, citizens, and government leaders documented history.
Credit: American Folk Art Museum, Gift of Rhea Goodman, 1979.9.1
American Icon: The US Flag in Art
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.
Through December 6, 2026
One of the ways nations build their identities is through universally recognized signs and symbols. Flags are among the most powerful symbols of nation-building and are often one of the first to be created. Since 1776, the U.S. flag—with its white stars set against a blue field and red and white stripes—has continued to evolve.
The “American Icon: The US Flag in Art” exhibition explores more than 30 works at the National Gallery of Art—a fitting venue to examine how artists have used the flag to express a broad range of meaning. Among the featured artists are Jasper Johns, Gordon Parks, Childe Hassam, and Faith Ringgold.
Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph Collection Http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b14845
The Statue of Liberty From Bartholdi to Warhol
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Fort Worth, Texas
August 16, 2026–January 3, 2027
French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi based the design of the classically draped female figure we’ve come to know as Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty) on Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. Gifted to the U.S. by France, the copper-clad, neoclassical monument sits on Liberty Island (formerly Bedloe’s Island), greeting all who enter New York Harbor by sea or air.
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s exhibition— “The Statue of Liberty From Bartholdi to Warhol”—features interpretations of the iconic statue. Along with 100 artworks and objects from more than 70 artists, the exhibition includes one of only five small-scale bronze reductions of the Statue of Liberty made during Bartholdi’s lifetime.
Credit: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Roy Lichtenstein Study Collection, Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, 2019.161
Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles
Autry Museum of the American West
Los Angeles
Through January 31, 2027
Spanish language and culture forms the bedrock of the way the arts are experienced and presented in Southern California today. In its largest city, Los Angeles, approximately 50 percent of the population identifies as Latinx. Cowboy culture, fueled by the entertainment industry, melds with California’s pre-settlement Indigenous roots and dominant Latinx culture in the Autry Museum of the American West.
In “Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles,” the Autry explores the meanings behind some of the most powerful words in the Declaration of Independence from the museum’s signature perspective. The exhibition shares the stories of diverse Angelenos and how their ideas of life, liberty, and happiness inspired the city’s growth and amplified the opportunities and contradictions expressed in the nation’s founding principles. Historical and contemporary objects, media, and art combine with community collaborations to bring this history to life.
In addition to the museums featured here, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Henry Ford; the Louisiana State Museum; and other institutions nationwide are marking this milestone anniversary with exhibitions and programs that reflect on the nation’s history, ideals, and ever-evolving identity. Happy 250th, America!
Credit: Autry Museum of the American West, Museum Purchase, 2024.30.1
Credit: Autry Museum of the American West, Museum Purchase, 2024.18.1
About the Author
Cynthia Close earned an MFA from Boston University and worked in various art-related roles before becoming a writer and editor.
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