New Exhibition Looks Back at America’s Bicentennial

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is preparing to open a new exhibition exploring the people, places and landscapes that shaped the United States around the nation’s 1976 Bicentennial.

Titled “Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial,” the exhibition opens September 18, 2026, and will remain on display through April 18, 2027.

Photography Captures America in the 1970s

The exhibition uses photography to document different parts of the country during a period when Americans were marking 200 years of independence. Images span locations including the California coast, Kansas and New York City, providing different perspectives on American communities and landscapes.

The exhibition also connects the country's cultural history with the growing role of photography in documenting everyday American life.

Culture and History Ahead of America’s 250th Anniversary

The exhibition arrives as the United States prepares for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, creating a cultural link between the 1976 Bicentennial and today's America 250 celebrations.

The Smithsonian has scheduled several exhibitions and cultural programs during 2026, highlighting American history, creativity and traditions as institutions across the country mark the anniversary.

For museum visitors, the new photography exhibition offers an opportunity to examine how Americans and the American landscape were represented during another major national anniversary.