Framing American Democracy

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
600 Main Street
Hartford, CT, 06103
USA

Framing American Democracy: Contemporary Artists Reflect
March 19 – September 13, 2026
Avery Court

I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.

– James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son, 1955

Artists of the past 50 years have played an active role in shaping and critiquing American society and politics. Mostly drawn from The Wadsworth’s permanent collection of contemporary art, the works in this exhibition project an image of the United States that is both audacious and flawed, in which principles of self-governance and individual rights—such as those outlined in the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) and the Declaration of Independence (1776)—are both revolutionary forces and works in progress. Some artists reexamine American democratic ideals through a subversive lens, while others seek to expand national narratives to include people whose rights were excluded by the founding fathers, such as women and descendants of enslaved Africans. Many artists represent protest or even use their art as a form of activism, particularly during watershed moments like the Civil Rights Era, the Vietnam War, and the AIDS crisis, while others ambivalently reflect on darker aspects of American culture, from consumerism to militarism.

https://www.thewadsworth.org/explore/on-view/contemporary-artists-reflect/

Framing American Democracy: Radical Roots
April 23 – September 27, 2026
Austin Gallery, Wadsworth level 3

The foundation of authority is laid, firstly, in the free consent of the people. As God has given us liberty, let us take it.

– Reverend Thomas Hooker sermon, Hartford, May 31, 1638

Who participates in democracy, and who has historically been excluded from or denied full participation within it? From its colonial settlement by English Puritans onward, Connecticut gave rise to political revolutionaries and revolutionary artists alike. In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900), this exhibition untangles the Connecticut roots of American democracy and its legacy. A cross-section of objects ranging from paintings and sculptures to decorative arts and ephemera help reframe Connecticut as a hotbed of radical thought. Prompting reflection on what American notions of freedom and liberty have meant at different moments in time, these same objects offer powerful lessons on the interplay between myth, memory, and history.

https://www.thewadsworth.org/explore/on-view/radical-roots/