Current Exhibition Recommendation: Dear America: Artists Explore the American Experience

Picture of Clare Romano, Associated American Artists, Grand Canyon, 1977, color collagraph on wove paper

If you have not yet visited Dear America: Artists Explore the the American Experience at the National Gallery of Art, it is well worth adding to your summer plans. Bringing together more than 100 works on paper spanning 250 years, the exhibition examines how artists have interpreted the American experience through the interconnected themes of land, community, and freedom.

What makes this exhibition particularly compelling for printmakers is the extraordinary range of media on view. Photographs, etchings, lithographs, screenprints, drawings, and artists’ books are presented side by side, creating rich and often unexpected conversations across generations and artistic movements. Works by Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, Jacob Lawrence, Thomas Hart Benton, Rupert García, and Fritz Scholder, among many others, demonstrate the diverse ways printed imagery has shaped and reflected American cultural narratives.

The photography galleries are equally impressive. Historic landscapes by Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams share space with powerful works by Gordon Parks, Sally Mann, LaToya Ruby Frazier, James Van Der Zee, and Carrie Mae Weems, offering multiple perspectives on the American experience across time.

Whether you are interested in printmaking, photography, or the broader history of American art, Dear America offers a thoughtful and visually rich experience. The exhibition remains on view through September 20, 2026.

Photography and written post by WPG Member, Susan Wooddell Campbell, and special guest Barbara Bitondo.