National Portrait Gallery — Bunk History

Artist Titus Kaphar says that his 2014 Columbus Day Painting—which greets "Unseen" visitors in the first gallery—was inspired by his young son’s conflicted and confusing study of the putative discoverer of America.

Two Artists in Search of Missing History

A new exhibition makes a powerful statement about the oversights of American history and America’s art history.

by Alicia Ault via Smithsonian on April 4, 2018

Side by side portraits of LL Cool J and John D. Rockefeller, both sitting with left leg crossed over right, right hand on leg.

How a Maverick Hip-Hop Legend Found Inspiration in a Titan of American Industry

When LL Cool J sat for his portrait, he found common ground with the life-long philanthropical endeavors of John D. Rockefeller.

by Alice George via Smithsonian on July 24, 2020

The Hidden Story of Two African American Women

An historian discovers the portraits of two women all bound up in the pages of a 19th-century book.

by Martha S. Jones, Kate Clarke Lemay via The Conversation on September 9, 2019

How Women Got the Vote Is a Far More Complex Story Than the History Textbooks Reveal

An immersive story about the bold women who helped secure the right to vote is on view at the National Portrait Gallery.

by Alicia Ault via Smithsonian on April 9, 2019

An Outline of Over 200 Years of Silhouettes

The oldest object on view shows on brown paperboard one of the earliest known images of a slave in the U.S.

by Claire Voon via Hyperallergic on August 13, 2018

Rarely Seen 19th-Century Silhouette of a Same-Sex Couple Living Together Goes On View

A new show, featuring the paper cutouts, reveals unheralded early Americans.

by Roger Catlin via Smithsonian on May 25, 2018

Where the Newly Unveiled Obama Portraits Fit in the History of (Black) Portraiture

An art historian explains how portraits can convey so much more than mere likeness.

by Richard J. Powell, Rachelle Hampton via Slate on February 12, 2018

Our Flag Was Still There

How is the first half of the 19th century depicted in and around the nation’s capital? Ed Ayers hits the road to find out.

by Ed Ayers on July 19, 2022

Political cartoon with Nixon and his inner circle tied up with wires, each pointing the finger at another.

8 Cartoons That Shaped Our View of Watergate — And Still Resonate Today

Herblock, Garry Trudeau, and others created memorable cartoons that skewered Nixon and Watergate, making the era a boom time for political satire.

by Michael Cavna via Washington Post on June 16, 2022

How the Camera Introduced Americans to Their Heroines

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights figures including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lucretia Mott and Margaret Fuller.

by Meilan Solly via Smithsonian on July 9, 2019

Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and Grace Hartigan

How New York’s Postwar Female Painters Battled for Recognition

The women of the historic Ninth Street Show had a will of iron and an intense need for their talent to be expressed, no matter the cost.

by Claudia Roth Pierpont via The New Yorker on October 1, 2018

Henrietta Lacks, Immortalized

Henrietta Lacks's "immortal" cell line, called "HeLa," is used in everything from cancer treatments to vaccines.

by Allison C. Meier via JSTOR Daily on May 17, 2018

brought to you by

© Bunk History