08/21/2026
It’s kinda chic to…DON’T WORRY, we respect you too much to engage in that meme (I also don’t really know how to overlay text on images). Anyhow, we’ve been closed all month busily preparing for our fall blockbuster—America in the Making!
With this exhibition, the Addison marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We have taken this opportunity to do something unusual for this museum, devoting the entire building to a chronological installation of works from our permanent collection from the dawn of the 18th century to the present. The story of American art told through our collection is neither comprehensive nor objective. Like the artworks it contains, the Addison’s collection can also be read as a window into the conditions, values, and assumptions under which it has been assembled and continues to grow. Its strengths and omissions reflect the circumstances of its formation, including individual taste, institutional priorities, and broader social and cultural forces. In this sense, the exhibition also offers a portrait of a collection in formation, one that, like America itself, remains continually “in the making.”
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see well over 300 works from the Addison’s permanent collection—including many of our “greatest hits” when America in the Making opens on September 8th. Stay tuned for more information about an exciting public opening on September 26th from 4 to 6!
America in the Making was curated collaboratively by Ricardo Mercado Ruiz Allison Kemmerer, Rachel Vogel, and Gordon Wilkins.
This exhibition is generously supported by the Sidney R. Knafel Fund and the Bernard and Louise Palitz Exhibitions Fund. Additional support is provided by Jana Paley (PA ’81).
