Yale University Press Book Examines Bicentennial Art and Defunding of Culture
Coming out in 2026 from Yale University Press, "What Was America?: Art, Culture, and Politics in the Bicentennial Era" is an academic exploration of art history by Elise Armani and Katy Siegel. Spanning 224 pages, it features 69 color images and 47 in black-and-white. The book delves into the 1976 Bicentennial, highlighting it as the largest cultural project in the U.S., coordinated by the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and various agencies. Armani and Siegel contend that federal programs and local partnerships produced events like PBS documentaries and public art, fostering a sense of national unity. They also criticize cuts to cultural funding, suggesting it contributes to societal decline, especially ahead of the 2026 Freedom 250 celebration.
Key facts
- What Was America? is authored by Elise Armani and Katy Siegel and published by Yale University Press in 2026.
- The book examines the 1976 Bicentennial as a federally coordinated cultural project involving multiple agencies.
- It discusses artworks by Benny Andrews, Faith Ringgold, Bruce Blackburn, and Ant Farm, among others.
- A protest chapter contrasts the Whitney Museum's Rockefeller exhibition with the Artists Meeting for Cultural Change anti-catalog.
- The authors argue that defunding arts and culture has contributed to civic disintegration.
- The review was written during the 2026 semiquincentennial weekend, referencing the Freedom 250 event.
- The book is 224 pages with 69 color and 47 black-and-white illustrations.
- The Bicentennial included events on the National Mall, in Galveston, at the deYoung and MoMA, and mobile trucks on the plains.
Entities
Artists
- Bob Wade
- Elise Armani
- Katy Siegel
- Benny Andrews
- Faith Ringgold
- Bruce Blackburn
- Betty Tichich
- Ben Schonzeit
- Charles Isaacs
- Frederick Douglass
- John D. Rockefeller 3rd
- Elon Musk
Institutions
- Yale University Press
- American Revolution Bicentennial Commission
- General Services Administration
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- National Endowment for the Arts
- PBS
- National Museum of History and Technology
- deYoung Museum
- MoMA
- Whitney Museum
- Artists Meeting for Cultural Change
- Buffalo AKG Art Museum
- Museum of Miami
- Smithsonian
- DOGE
- Freedom 250
- UFC
- Artnews
- Art in America
Locations
- United States
- Galveston
- Texas
- New Haven
- Miami
- Washington, D.C.
- New York