Seeing America

City and country

We think about the city and the country as opposites, but they have more to do with one another than you would expect.

Browse content

We're adding new content all the time!

Revisiting a frozen sea
Revisiting a frozen sea

A Hudson River School artist looks north

Cars, highways, and isolation in Postwar America
Cars, highways, and isolation in Postwar America

There is no open road here.

Before Penn Station, Bellows & old NYC
Before Penn Station, Bellows & old NYC

The awesome beauty of a large hole in the earth, dug to bring railroads to Manhattan.

Clean water for a young Philadelphia
Clean water for a young Philadelphia

Top American bucket list destination in 1821

Mapping nature’s stunning beauty
Mapping nature’s stunning beauty

The river's brilliant reflections gave shape to this enormous sculpture in silver

<em>Migrant Mother</em>, behind the Icon
Migrant Mother, behind the Icon

Meet the two women behind this iconic 1936 photograph.

Resilience during the Great Depression
Resilience during the Great Depression

Cats, gossip, and laundry — a view of Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

Celebrating the modern city
Celebrating the modern city

The sensations of the streets of New York City

Going to the movies in 1913
Going to the movies in 1913

When movies were new and lights transformed the darkened city streets.

Politics and humanity in 1970s New York
Politics and humanity in 1970s New York

Buttons, flags, and booze — Ben conjures up a specific time and place.

Teaching guide<br>Wayne Thiebaud, ​<em>Ponds and Streams</em>
Teaching guide
Wayne Thiebaud, ​Ponds and Streams

A colorful perspective on agriculture, water, and pollution.

The landscape remade
The landscape remade

Can the commonplace working farmland of California's Sacramento River Valley be a place of of breathtaking beauty?

Load more