NYC Museums Present Diverse Perspectives on US Semiquincentennial
New York institutions are marking the US's 250th birthday with exhibitions that offer nuanced and inclusive views of the nation's founding and its legacy. The Grey Art Museum at NYU displays one of 26 surviving Dunlap broadsides of the Declaration of Independence, owned by billionaire William R. Berkley, alongside over 100 contextual documents. The Museum of the City of New York's 'The Occupied City' recreates revolutionary-era New York under British occupation, featuring interactive installations like toppling a digital effigy of King George III. The New York Historical presents 'Revolutionary Women' (May 29–Oct 25), highlighting women such as cross-dressing soldier Deborah Sampson, Haudenosaunee diplomat Molly Brant, and self-emancipated enslaved woman Deborah Squash. The Cooper Hewitt showcases 'Made in America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne' (until Sept 27), documenting US factories from piano-making to robotics. The American Folk Art Museum's 'Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States' (until Sept 13) examines folk art as expressions of national identity, juxtaposing a Gilded Age whirligig with a 1990 painting by Benjamin Franklin Perkins.
Key facts
- Grey Art Museum at NYU displays one of 26 surviving Dunlap broadsides of the Declaration of Independence, bought by William R. Berkley in the early 1990s, on view until July 10.
- Museum of the City of New York's 'The Occupied City' explores New York as a revolutionary battleground under British occupation.
- New York Historical's 'Revolutionary Women' (May 29–Oct 25) features Deborah Sampson, Molly Brant, and Deborah Squash.
- Cooper Hewitt's 'Made in America' by Christopher Payne runs until September 27, showing US factories including Steinway piano factory and Hyundai's Georgia plant.
- American Folk Art Museum's 'Folk Nation' (until Sept 13) includes a whirligig of Uncle Sam and a 1990 painting by Benjamin Franklin Perkins.
- Two other Dunlap broadsides are on view at the Morgan Library and Museum and the New York Public Library.
- Elisabeth Sherman, MCNY chief curator, notes the exhibition explores economic precarity beyond 'taxation without representation'.
- The British evacuated many Black and Native American allies, including Squash and Brant, to Canada after the war.
Entities
Artists
- Christopher Payne
- Benjamin Franklin Perkins
- Gordon Parks
- Deborah Sampson
- Molly Brant
- Deborah Squash
- Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
- Abigail Adams
- George Washington
- King George III
Institutions
- Grey Art Museum at New York University
- Museum of the City of New York
- New York Historical
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- American Folk Art Museum
- Morgan Library and Museum
- New York Public Library
- Smithsonian Institution
- Steinway & Sons
- Hyundai
Locations
- New York City
- New York
- United States
- Washington, DC
- Philadelphia
- Astoria, Queens
- Georgia
- Canada
- Bowling Green, Manhattan
- National Mall