ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

48 Photographs Capture America at 250: From Gold Rush to Trump Inauguration

publication · 2026-07-04

In a special feature commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States, The Guardian showcases 48 images that document the country's journey of self-creation, spanning from the 1839 daguerreotype to the present day. Sarah Churchwell's accompanying essay posits that photography has played a crucial role in shaping and narrating the American narrative. Notable photographs include Carleton Watkins's views of Yosemite (1861), Alexander Gardner's depiction of Civil War casualties at Antietam (1862), the 'Champagne Photo' of the transcontinental railroad (1869), Dorothea Lange's iconic 'Migrant Mother' (1936), Gordon Parks's 'American Gothic' (1942), Robert Capa's D-Day landing (1944), and Joe Rosenthal's flag-raising at Iwo Jima (1945). Captions by Felix Bazalgette and Alice Robb mention that in 2025, World Press Photo suspended Nick Ut's authorship, concluding with a photograph of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg at Trump's inauguration in 2025.

Key facts

  • The United States was founded in 1776 but began to see itself in 1839 with the arrival of daguerreotypes.
  • Carleton Watkins's 1861 Yosemite photographs helped lead to Lincoln's 1864 preservation legislation.
  • Alexander Gardner's 1862 Antietam photos were among the first to show war's gruesome reality.
  • The 'Champagne Photo' of the transcontinental railroad (1869) excluded Chinese workers who laid much of the track.
  • The bison skull mountain photo (1892) reflects near-extinction tied to indigenous genocide.
  • Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' (1936) subject Florence Owens Thompson resented the photo's use.
  • Emmett Till's mother Mamie chose an open casket in 1955 to force white America to see racial violence.
  • World Press Photo suspended Nick Ut's authorship of 'The Terror of War' (1972) in 2025.
  • Thomas Hoepker's 9/11 photo (2001) was withheld until 2006 due to its controversial tone.
  • The 2025 Trump inauguration photo shows Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg seated prominently.
  • Carol Guzy's 2025 photo captures a family separated by ICE at a New York courthouse.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • The Guardian
  • World Press Photo
  • Harper's Weekly
  • Life magazine
  • New York Times
  • Esquire
  • Slate magazine
  • CBS
  • 60 Minutes
  • Associated Press
  • Magnum Photos
  • International Center of Photography
  • Farm Security Administration
  • National Association of Manufacturers
  • National Park Service
  • Union Pacific Railroad
  • Central Pacific Railroad
  • Ford Motor Company
  • Rockefeller Center
  • Nike
  • Air Jordan
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Sports Illustrated
  • Studio 54
  • Disneyland
  • The Richard Avedon Foundation
  • Gordon Parks Foundation
  • Bruce Silverstein Gallery
  • Olney Gleason
  • Pérez Art Museum Miami
  • Emory University
  • University of California, Irvine
  • Stanford University
  • Detroit Public Library
  • Burton Historical Collection
  • The J Paul Getty Museum
  • Museum of the City of New York
  • Chicago History Museum
  • Bettmann Archive
  • Corbis
  • Getty Images
  • Shutterstock
  • Alamy
  • Reuters
  • Bloomberg
  • EPA
  • Miami Herald
  • Zuma Press
  • iWitness
  • American Electric Power
  • Ku Klux Klan
  • Proud Boys
  • House Committee on Un-American Activities
  • Immigration and Naturalization Service
  • ICE
  • Nasa
  • Artemis II
  • Black & Red
  • Leo Burnett (ad agency)
  • Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
  • Project 562
  • National Guard
  • US Marine Corps War Memorial
  • Arlington National Cemetery

Locations

  • United States
  • New York
  • Manhattan
  • Broadway
  • 10th Street
  • Times Square
  • Harlem
  • East 126th Street
  • Williamsburg
  • Brooklyn
  • Coney Island
  • Ellis Island
  • Washington DC
  • Capitol
  • Arlington
  • Virginia
  • California
  • Yosemite valley
  • Nipomo
  • Anaheim
  • Beverly Hills
  • Hollywood
  • Los Angeles
  • San Francisco
  • Chicago
  • Illinois
  • Ohio
  • Cheshire
  • McArthur
  • Kent State University
  • Kentucky
  • Louisville
  • Alabama
  • Mobile
  • New Orleans
  • Louisiana
  • Texas
  • El Paso
  • West Virginia
  • Colorado
  • Montana
  • New Mexico
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Minneapolis
  • Minnesota
  • Florida
  • Utah
  • Promontory Summit
  • Nebraska
  • Iowa
  • South Dakota
  • North Dakota
  • Mississippi
  • Georgia
  • Atlanta
  • Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania
  • Gettysburg
  • Antietam
  • Omaha Beach
  • Normandy
  • France
  • Iwo Jima
  • Japan
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • Vietnam
  • Laos
  • Cambodia
  • Iraq
  • Abu Ghraib
  • Soviet Union
  • Switzerland
  • Belgium
  • Ecuador
  • Caribbean
  • Moon
  • Earth

Sources

Related stories