Picturing Independence

Picturing Independence is open at the Saint Louis Art Museum, where it runs from June 12, 2026, through January 24, 2027. The exhibition marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and it pulls around 30 works from the museum's own collection, spanning 1770 to 2018.

One thing to know before you go: the show isn't confined to a single room. The works are hung across the galleries, so you'll find them scattered throughout the museum rather than all in one spot. The exhibition is split into two sections. The first, Picturing Revolution, gathers images of the American Revolution and military service. The second, Symbols of the New Nation, traces how American artists have made and responded to national symbols like the US flag, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.

The range of media and artists is wide. It runs from Paul Revere's silver to paintings by Benjamin West and George Caleb Bingham, and prints by Jacob Lawrence, Marisol, Fritz Scholder, and Norman Akers. That span—from the 1770s to 2018—means you'll see how these themes shifted over two and a half centuries, from the early days of the Revolution to contemporary responses. The exhibition was curated by Amy Torbert, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Associate Curator of American Art.

Admission is free. The museum is at 1 Fine Arts Drive in Forest Park, and the show stays up through January 24, 2027, so you've got plenty of time to work your way through the galleries.