Embassy of the United States

Press Release

"Picturing America" Exhibit

 “Picturing America” exhibition aims to tell the story of America through its art.  The exhibition is a new arts and culture program organized by the National Endowment for the Humanities in coordination with the American Library Association and is currently on tour in the Gulf region. 

 "Picturing America" will be exhibited at the Nassief House in Al-Balad area of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from April 15 – April 27, 2009.  The frames will be displayed on the ground floor alongside a historic retrospective of Jeddah and the Mecca region creating a unique Saudi and American cultural exchange. 

 "Picturing America" is composed of forty framed reproductions of significant American art spanning several centuries – all by American painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects.  The works portray America’s history, ideals, and aspirations. For instance, the masterpieces:

• Portray great American leaders, in images such as Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington and Alexander Gardner’s photograph of Abraham Lincoln;
• Depict American courage and sacrifices, in works such as Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware;
• Illustrate our founding principles of freedom and equality, as shown in the Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-Fourth Regiment Memorial in Boston;
• Show the workings of American democracy, in images such as Norman Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech; and
• Illustrate our nation’s Native American heritage, through works like Black Hawk’s “Sans Arc Lakota” Ledger Book.

 Including the newly unveiled website www.picturingamerica.neh.gov, Picturing America’s resources unlock the potential in each work of art to enhance the study of American history, social studies, language arts, literature, and civics. 

 For more information please visit the US Consulate Jeddah website: http://jeddah.usconsulate.gov/ 

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