Part document, part subjective storytelling, visual art illustrates and offers nuance to significant moments in U.S. history. From portraits of well-known leaders to history paintings that speak to the sacrifice and strength of the American people, the power of paint to render subjects remains unquestionable. The act of painting can also make history. Through hard edges and expressive forms, American artists re-imagined painting and used abstraction as a mechanism to consider the human body, natural environs, architecture, emotion, and an economy of line.
Featuring works by: Young-Il Ahn, Sam Gilliam, Carmen Herrera, Hans Hofmann, Virginia Jaramillo, Lloyd Kiva New, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, George Morrison, Noemí Ruiz, Zilia Sánchez, and Vaughn Spann.