10 museums to visit during America’s 250th anniversary | Museums

1. Native Americans of New Jersey: Past and Present

Lincroft, New Jersey. Monmouth Museum. Until 2 September 2026

With the help of Dr. Phoebe Farris, who is a Powhatan-Pamunkey descendant, the exhibition was created with guidance from artists and writers, sociologists, teachers and representatives of Monmouth University.

Artifacts from the past and modern art are discussed to help visitors understand the life of the local people. The exhibit features artifacts and artifacts shared by the Monmouth County Historical Association, as well as on loan through a partnership with Art Bridges.

Also featuring bilingual interpretation, interactive materials and tours provided by Title I schools, the exhibit aims to make the history and presence of New Jersey’s indigenous people accessible to all.

2. So Much Here Is Beautiful: The US Bicentennial Art Survey

Washington DC. Smithsonian American Art Museum. 18 September 2026 – 18 April 2027

Named after a line in a poem by former US poet Robert Hayden American Journal, the exhibition includes selected images from photographic research, documentaries of people and places from the 1900s to the years before and after the two years of the US bicentennial in 1976.

That year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), inspired by the Farm Security Administration’s Great Depression era portraits, created a program to fund regional portraits, taking America back 200 years. What’s next? More than 70 NEA-sponsored photo searches, which yielded thousands of photos by more than 200 artists.

3. America at 250

Boston, Massachusetts. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It opens on 19 June

MFA Boston brings together artworks by a wide range of artists – from Native and non-Native creators to Caribbean, North, South and Central American artists – to address the world and symbols it celebrates.

One inclusion in the show is the way the founding father is remembered. To the Mohawk tribe, George Washington is known as the “Town Destroyer”, but most Americans celebrate him as the founder of the country. In this exhibit, a portrait of Washington by Alan Michelson, a Mohawk artist, contrasts with an unfinished portrait of the first president from 1796 by Gilbert Stuart.

In conjunction with the nation’s 250th, MFA Boston is unveiling a major renovation of its 18th century Art of the Americas buildings. The glass that comes with it has more than 400 works, including long invisible and new pieces.

4. Encountering Freedom in America

Chicago, Illinois. Chicago History Museum. It opens on the 4th of July

Although 55 delegates attended the legislative session, where 39 signed the law, it has been the Americans who have followed – through generations of problems and work – who have tried to define the meaning of “freedom”.

Using photographs, artefacts and interactive materials, the Facing Freedom exhibition asks viewers what they contribute to freedom in the country. The long-running exhibit features new works this year, created by four artists that depict the nation’s founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the US constitution, the 13th amendment and the Northwest Ordinance.

5. There are many

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Institute of Art. Until 2 August

It is referred to as Walt Whitman’s most famous piece My Song, Containing Multitudes seeks to celebrate the “richness and contradictions” of the American experience through photography.

The exhibition features 95 works from the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s permanent collection, combining old and recently acquired images, and, as a result, stopping artists old and new to talk to each other.

Famous international artists such as Dawoud Bey, Carrie Mae Weems and Ansel Adams tell the story of America together with contemporary artists from Minnesota, such as Jaida Gray Eagle, Alec Soth and Xavier Tavera. The show also has a few pictures of unknown games.

6. Mississippi Created

Jackson, Mississippi. Two Mississippi Museums. Until 6 November

Mississippi Made tells the story of more than two centuries of the Magnolia State’s agricultural, musical, scientific and artistic contributions to the nation through nearly 250 artifacts.

Artifacts on display in the exhibit include Lindsey’s eight-wheeled wagon, which was made in the early 20th century. The state’s musical and literary history is represented through works from BB King, Leontyne Price and Elvis Presley, as well as portraits of William Faulkner and Richard Wright by Mississippi artists.

7. We make history

washington, DC. Anacostia Community Museum. Until January 2028

Marking the 250th anniversary this year and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum’s 60th anniversary, We Make History shows visitors how DC communities contribute to the nation’s story.

We Make History opened on 30 May, 185 years since the writing of Adam Francis Plummer. Plummer’s diary is the mainstay of the exhibition, which also contains letters, photographs and other materials that show how community issues “are the building blocks of our nation”.

8. America 250: Common Threads

Bentonville, Arkansas. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Until 27 July

Common Threads commemorates both the 1776 events that led to the nation’s founding and 250 years of American art and civic engagement.

The exhibit invites visitors to see how past generations have celebrated the founding of the nation, from America’s centennial in 1876 to other 20th-century displays.

Included in the exhibition are historical works – textiles, paintings and toys, among others – from 1776. Local clothiers and quilting groups will work in the galleries to create circles created by K-12 students from Arkansas and designed by Basil Kincaid.

9. The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol

Fort Worth, Texas. Amon Carter Museum of American Art. 15 August – January 3, 2027

With nearly 100 works by more than 70 artists, The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol uses one of America’s most famous symbols – the Statue of Liberty – to explore themes of patriotism, resistance and immigration.

The exhibition is next to a bronze sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, which is one of only five domestic miniatures created during his lifetime.

10. Life, Liberty and Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California. Autry Museum. Until 31 January 2027

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is one of the defining words of the Declaration of Independence. The Autry Museum is exploring the term in its latest exhibit, which seeks to explore how Angelenos contributed to the city’s development through their interpretation of the term.

Combining past and present art, objects and videos, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the past while creating the future.