Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial
Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial presents an expansive photographic portrait of the United States, ranging from the California coast and Kansas heartland to New York City. The exhibition brings together 225 photographs depicting people and places from the nineteenth century through the years immediately before and after the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial, with particular attention to the 1970s and early 1980s.
The exhibition places photographs from National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) regional survey projects within the longer history of federally supported documentary photography. Created to mark the nation’s Bicentennial, the NEA program funded more than 70 photographic surveys over six years, producing thousands of images by more than 200 photographers. In 1983, 1,000 photographs by NEA grant recipients entered the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, including prints from 13 survey projects. The exhibition is the first to bring these Bicentennial images together with the broader legacy of American photographic surveys dating to the nineteenth century.
When: September 18, 2026–April 18, 2027
Hours: Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Venue: Smithsonian American Art Museum
Tickets: Free admission
Exhibition focus: The 1970s survey photographs are arranged across four geographic areas: the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. The presentation reflects years of research into SAAM’s photography holdings and collections around the country, including newly discovered and previously unseen works.
Artists represented: William Bell, Joe Deal, Linda Eber, Terry Evans, Wendy Ewald, Emmet Gowin, Robert K. Hower, Robert Townsend Jones Jr., Reagan Louie, Kenneth McGowan, Joan Clark Netherwood, David Seman, Ted Wathen, Carleton E. Watkins, Marion Post Wolcott, and Penny Wolin.
Featured works: The listed works include photographs made between approximately the 1860s and 1982, with processes including albumen silver, gelatin silver, chromogenic, and inkjet printing. Some works were printed later, including photographs dated 1978 and 1979 that were printed in 2025.
Title: The exhibition’s title is drawn from a line in Robert Hayden’s poem “American Journal.” Hayden served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, now known as the U.S. Poet Laureate, from 1976 to 1978.
Organizers: Organized by John Jacob, the McEvoy Family Senior Curator for Photography, and Krystle Stricklin, assistant curator of photography.
Catalogue: A fully illustrated companion catalogue, published by Radius Books in partnership with SAAM, is available for purchase in the museum store and online for $65. It includes histories of all 72 surveys and hundreds of reproductions.
Support: The exhibition is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Major support comes from the Elizabeth Broun Curatorial Endowment, Ronald Costell, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, the Charles Robertson Exhibitions Endowment, the Bernie Stadiem Endowment Fund, and Trellis Charitable Fund. Additional support is provided by Michael Abrams and Sandra Stewart, the Joanne and Richard Brodie Exhibitions Endowment, Crown Equipment Exhibitions Endowment, Daniel W. Hamilton, the Margery and Edgar Masinter Exhibitions Fund, Amy Sarah McCombs, Minami Legacy Fund for the Arts, MurthyNAYAK Foundation, the David and Anne Sellin Exhibitions Endowment, and Lucille and Richard Spagnuolo.