Celebrating America 250: National Gallery of Art opens flag exhibit, sends renowned artwork across country

A new exhibit featuring artistic interpretations of the American flag opens June 6 at the National Gallery of Art as part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.

The exhibit, “American Icon,” is the third and final installment in a series highlighting American heritage, culture and artistic achievement. All three exhibits are housed in the National Gallery’s West Building in Washington, D.C., and will remain open for much of the year.

“As the nation’s art museum, it is our great honor to commemorate 250 years of America,” Kaywin Feldman, the gallery’s director, said in a statement. “Through a dynamic slate of presentations and programs, the National Gallery of Art highlights the American artists, stories, and movements that have shaped our nation’s cultural heritage.”

The gallery is also sharing renowned artwork with communities across the country through a new initiative called “Across the Nation.”

One featured work, Picking Flowers by French Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, arrived at the Whatcom Museum in Washington state in February as part of an exhibit titled “Verdant.” The exhibit also includes two additional works from the National Gallery’s collection.

Painted in 1875, Picking Flowers is a well-known work of art, but for many local visitors it may have been their first opportunity to view the painting in person, said Amy Chaloupka, chief curator at the Whatcom Museum.

Developed as part of America’s semiquincentennial celebration, “Across the Nation” loans major works of art to museums throughout the United States, according to a National Gallery press release.

“We have an incredible asset base in the form of 160,000 works of art, most of which end up in storage for long periods of time because you just can’t show it all,” Mitchell P. Rales, a National Gallery trustee and former president of the institution, told The New York Times. “And so I started to say, ‘What do we need to do to put the word “national” into the National Gallery of Art?’”

Although artwork loans are common among major museums, they often cost thousands of dollars because of insurance, transportation and installation expenses, The New York Times reported.

The Mitchell P. Rales Family Foundation endowed $116 million in April to fully fund “Across the Nation.” According to the National Gallery, it is the largest endowment gift in the museum’s history.

The program’s first phase sent artwork to 10 museums, including the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, the Figge Art Museum in Iowa and the Whatcom Museum in Washington. The exhibits feature works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Winslow Homer, Rembrandt and other prominent artists. The pieces are expected to remain on display through early 2027.

The National Gallery hopes to expand the program to all 50 states within the next decade. A new group of participating museums is scheduled to be announced in fall 2027.

“We look forward to engaging audiences across the country in a meaningful reflection on the past, present, and future of American creativity,” Feldman said.

Photo credit: Picking Flowers by Auguste Renoir (Wikimedia)