De Bry's images of the Americas affirm and assert a sense of European superiority.
Seeing America – Theme: American and regional culture
A Greek myth and the American anti-Slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin combine to upend our own contemporary myths
Turning Uncle Tom’s Cabin upside down
Cole, the great American landscape painter, looks across the vast history of Western architecture
Dreaming big
At this party, everyone has the same face and seems profoundly alone.
Fashion & alienation in 1960s New York
From the Manhattan Project to nursery rhymes, a collision of art and science.
If All the World Were Paper…
In his Peaceable Kingdom series, Hicks depicts a visionary scene of peace on earth that extends back to include William Penn and the founding of Pennsylvania.
Teaching guide
Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom
One of two panels to survive the Texas Centennial, pointing to a future free of racism.
A beacon of hope
Teraoka draws on Japan's brilliant history of art and kabuki theatre to create beauty from heartrending tragedy
American Kabuki
In his Peaceable Kingdom series of over 60 images, Hicks depicts a visionary scene of peace on earth that extends back to include William Penn and the founding of Pennsylvania.
The Peaceable Kingdom as Penn’s parable
How a portrait of an African Muslim came to hang side-by-side with the founding fathers in one of America's earliest museums.
A Muslim among the founding fathers
According to the artist (Reginald Marsh), at Coney Island, “The best show is the people themselves.”
Coney Island during the Depression
In addition to being an politician, Jefferson was an ardent supporter and practitioner of classical architecture.
Architect of the Enlightenment
“Native American” is a broad term encompassing many diverse groups.
Geography, chronology and Native American art
Nazi violence forced many artists and intellectuals to leave Germany in the 1930s, and like Grosz, many came to the United States.
The premonition of Remembering
This one-of-a-kind suitcase tells the surprising story of an artist, a wedding, and a people.
Lakota life on a beaded suitcase
We think of Puritans aesthetics as restrained and humble, but this elaborate cupboard proves otherwise.
Thought the Puritans were dour?
Spirituality and transcendence were important postwar themes expressed in Rothko's work.
Transcendence and Cold War
Lawrence captures the vitality of Harlem and highlights the issues around access to medical care for people of color.
A Harlem street by Jacob Lawrence
Who should be the arbiter of taste—the person on the street, the artist, the courts?
The Culture Wars and Richard Serra’s Tilted ...
Hopper gives us a window into the urban isolation and anxiety of WWII-era New York.