June 30 – November 8, 2026
Martha Deneen Cotten Gallery and the J. Hyde Crawford and Anthony Tortora Gallery
USA 250: 250 Years on the Road to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is an exhibition presented across two galleries and draws from the Collection of the Orlando Museum of Art and is envisioned as a road trip across the United States, trailing significant historical points of view where artists have recognized, responded to, or documented changing human experiences. The earliest painting presented hails from the late 19th-century Hudson River School and is displayed alongside works across media that extend into our contemporary era.
Each wall in this exhibition corresponds to one of five geographical regions, beginning with the Southeast to the right, followed counterclockwise by the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the North and Northwest, and concluding with the Southwest. You can take the wheel and choose your own route through photographs of National Parks as well as the human and environmental landscapes of migration and the Great Depression, through paintings of venerable laborers to collages that evoke a sense of place, to historic etchings shared before the proliferation of photography, and to Pop Art prints commissioned for the 1976 Bicentennial.
The exhibition also extends the Echoes of the Ancient in Contemporary Voices exhibition, featuring Mateo Blanco’s Arhuaco Flag (2025, in collaboration with the Arhuaco Indigenous people of Colombia; naturally dyed and hand-woven cotton). For Mateo Blanco, the American flag represents his journey, commemorates the United States’ 250th anniversary, and reflects on the enduring spirit of a nation built on freedom, resilience, and the belief that all our stories matter.
USA 250: 250 Years on the Road To Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit Of Happiness is Organized by the Orlando Museum of Art, Curated by Katherine Page, Associate Curator.
Fritz Scholder,Payómkawichum Native American, California Mission Tribe, La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, Bicentennial Indian (from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio: Spirit of Independence), 1974, Lithograph on Paper; Edition 36/125, 22 1/2 x 29 3/4 inches. Collection of the Orlando Museum of Art, Gift of Lorillard Corporation, 76.02.10
