NEW YORK, NY.- Conceived as a call and response between historical and contemporary art, Past As Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment brings together politically potent historical works from the National Academy of Design’s collection with contemporary works that critically engage with the past and prompt fresh perspectives on our art historical origins.
Drawing from the Academy’s vast collection which spans nearly 200 years, Past as Prologue features both historical and contemporary works to explore themes from land to representation. Organized in two parts, the first section focuses on “Land and Territory” which include 19th-century landscapes of grand tour expeditions and paintings by members of Hudson River school whose works expressed the fantasies of the U.S. as uninhabited terrain.
Toggling between the 19th and 21st centuries, artworks in the exhibition represent colonialism and imperialism through sublime landscapes and institutional critique. Expanded ideas of landscape question extractive practices, westward expansion, with an emphasis on portraiture as a throughline in the National Academy’s collection.
The second installment of Past as Prologue takes up U.S. identity in its myriad forms, engaging themes like abolitionist movements, labor, national identity, race and Indigeneity, protest and political action, and social fabric.
Past as Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment is co-curated by Sara Reisman, Chief Curator, and Natalia Viera Salgado, Associate Curator.
Featured artists include: Njideka Akunyili Crosby NA, Elia Alba, Emma Amos NA (1937-2020), Benny Andrews NA (1930-2006), Will Barnet NA (1911-2012), Louise Bourgeois NA (1911-2010), Paul Cadmus NA, (1904-1999), Henry Casselli NA, Elizabeth Catlett NA (1915-2012), Sue Coe NA, Patricia Cronin NA, Melvin Edwards NA, Mitch Epstein NA, Camila Falquez, Rafael Ferrer NA, Coco Fusco, Charles Gaines NA, Harold Garcia V, Andrea Geyer, Jeffrey Gibson, Elana Herzog NA, G. Peter Jemison, Byron Kim NA, Joyce Kozloff NA, Jacob Lawrence NA (1917-2000), Luigi Lucioni NA (1900-1988), Clare Veronica Hope Leighton NA (1898-1989), James Luna (1950-2018), Shervone Neckles, Catherine Opie NA, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Howardena Pindell NA, Lina Puerta, Robert Rauschenberg NA (1925-2008), Faith Ringgold NA (1930-2024), Alison Saar NA, Marion Sanford NA (1904-1987), Arthur Simms NA, Rose B. Simpson, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith NA (1940-2025), Betty Tompkins, Carrie Mae Weems NA, Peter Williams NA (1952-2021).
