Updated June 16, 2026 at 3:45 PM EDT
June 14 marked the day the Continental Congress first adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag in 1777. For the 250 years since that first Flag Day, that banner has been a symbol of patriotism and valor.
It鈥檚 also been a canvas for generations of artists to depict their highest hopes for our nation in peacetime and at war 鈥� and to explore our failures to live up to our founding ideals.
鈥淭he flag continues to be important,鈥� said , chief curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. 鈥淓very generation approaches it through a different lens, and our exhibition allows viewers to see that evolution.鈥�
The Gallery just opened a new exhibit to mark the country鈥檚 250th anniversary called 鈥�.鈥�
It includes work by Jasper Johns, a pop art contemporary of Andy Warhol, who made a series of more than 40 American flags.
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7 artworks, explained by E. Carmen Ramos
Flag鈥� by Jasper Johns (1969)
鈥淯sually in his works, whether they were lithographs depicting the American flag or paintings, he portrayed the flag in color: red, white and blue. In some cases, he altered the colors of the American flag. So, one of the real different things about this is that the flag is in this gray, lead color. So, all the color that we associate with the American flag is just devoid here in this image. But we can still see the flag because of the texture.
鈥淥ne of the statements that he said was that the flag was something that was familiar, that it鈥檚 seen but not looked at. His images of the flag are really opportunities, invitations for us to sit and ponder the flag and what it means to us. And his use of different materials invites that exploration of the different meanings that it might have to different people.鈥�
鈥淪uspended throughout the picture are flags of England, the United States and France. It鈥檚 all about how the United States has joined the fight in World War I. It鈥檚 a glorious painting done in an impressionistic style. It鈥檚 one of the icons of our American art collection, and an exhibition on the American flag could not be done without it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an optimistic view. It鈥檚 a view of solidarity with our partners and this effort. He鈥檚 not depicting soldiers, but it kind of represents the American people and their experience.鈥�
鈥淸Dorothea Lange] went to California to document the relocation of people of Japanese ancestry right after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II.
鈥淭his is an amazing photograph because of the way she took the picture. She has a very low perspective, and it allows us to see the humanity of the children: their patriotism, their innocence. That vantage point really helps us as viewers to identify with these children.鈥�
鈥淭his photograph is part of a larger series that [Gordon Parks] did documenting the life of Ella Watson. When you look at the series as a whole, he鈥檚 portraying that full arc of her life: her life as a worker, her life with her family, her struggles, her aspirations, her life with the church.
鈥淭he work has different titles. We have both titles: 鈥榃ashington, D.C. Government, Charwoman (American Gothic).鈥� He was definitely thinking of that iconic image in American art, where you have the farmer and his daughter standing in front of this gothic farm structure holding a pitchfork. In the American experience, that 鈥楪othic鈥� Grant Wood work is iconic and very much associated with the Midwest. And he鈥檚 reflecting on a very different experience, a different moment in time, encouraging us to think about what that relationship is and what do the differences between those two images mean.鈥�
鈥淩inggold was an amazing, important African American artist. She came of age in the 1960s, and a lot of her work was shaped by the historical moment. This is probably one of her most iconic works from her very long career.
鈥淚t was created as part of a larger series called 鈥楾he American People Series,鈥� during the Civil Rights Movement. She was really thinking about the social unrest of the period.
鈥淗ow do we interpret this group? It鈥檚 hard to tell by their expressions. They鈥檙e not smiling. They鈥檙e not frowning. They鈥檙e just standing there. It really encourages us to think about our relationship as a society, our relationship to each other.鈥�
鈥淪heila Bright started a project where she embarked on a cross-country tour to ask people [ages] 18 to 25 a question. She invited them to sort of reflect, asking them to complete the prompt 鈥淎merica: blank鈥� and to have them pose with the American flag in some way.
鈥淓ach photograph and each individual in this series has a different relationship with the flag. And I think that鈥檚 one of the things that the artist was trying to capture, that the flag doesn鈥檛 mean one thing, but it means all these different things.鈥�
鈥淭his is the most exciting work in the exhibition. Holly Bass created this work as a reflection of the contributions of Black women to American society. What we see is a joyous performance of the artist dancing and grooving against a white background. She鈥檚 also emoting and responding to Black music, as well as the words of prominent Black women in American society from Shirley Chisholm to Bessie Smith, the blues singer, and Fannie Lou Hamer, the Civil Rights activist.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly energetic. It鈥檚 almost an endurance video, if you will, an endurance work. And it shows her in this very triumphant way. It ends with her as if she鈥檚 like a champion after a fight.鈥�
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produced and edited this interview for broadcast with . Perkins Mastromarino also produced it for the web.
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