Published October 15. 2026 01:20AM<\/p>\n
\u201cRevolution Retold: Commemorating American Independence in Art and Design,\u201d with selections from the Allentown Art Museum vault celebrating \u201cAmerica250,\u201d continues through Oct. 18 in the museum\u2019s Rodale Gallery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was excited to look through our rich collection and mine it for works that showed how artists have interpreted the American Revolution, how that\u2019s changed, what kind of stories they are telling over the course of two centuries, from 1826 through the early 21st century,\u201d says Allentown Art Museum Associate Curator Claire McRee. who curated the exhibition.<\/p>\n
\u201cRevolution Retold\u201d includes original and commercially manufactured pieces, pen and ink drawings, paintings, glassware and contemporary prints.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the earlier works focus on George Washington, who was really a huge hero and cultural figure throughout the 19th century,\u201d says McRee.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge Washington\u201d (1876, ink on paper, 26 in. x 22.75 in.) by American artist John M. Swasey is one example. It depicts Washington gallantly on a rearing horse framed within an oval of decorative laurels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the late 19th century and early 20th century, we see more that are focusing on nostalgia for Colonial times for handcrafts and agriculture, which has to do more with the changes happening in American society at their own time with urbanization and industrialization,\u201d McRee says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have works that relate to the Bicentennial that take a more critical look at American history and the African-American struggle for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among these are examples of fabric arts from the museum\u2019s vault:<\/p>\n
\u201cSonday Family American Quilt\u201d (Circa 1940s, cotton, pieced and quilted, 81.5 in. x 82 in.) hand-stitched in Bucks County, has red striped stars and tiny blue Liberty Bells nestled in the striped zigzag border.<\/p>\n
\u201cScarf\u201d (1940 – 1941; printed silk plain weave, by Echo, Inc., American textile manufacturer, founded 1923, 35 in. x 34 in.) celebrates the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n
Faith Ringgold\u2019s \u201cTaxes on Us Without Our Consent\u201d from the series \u201cThe Declaration of Freedom and Independence\u201d (2009; screen print, 8 in. x 16.25 in.) juxtaposes the Boston Tea Party with the Civil Rights struggle at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.<\/p>\n
McRee placed a few pieces from the collection in the museum\u2019s American galleries to tie in with what is on display in the Rodale Gallery, including \u201cFurnishing Fabric\u201d (circa 1830; printed cotton weave, glazed, made in France for the American market, 92.875 x 24.25 in.), which depicts the first five United States presidents.<\/p>\n
The exhibition is supported by Discover Lehigh Valley, the Bernard and Audrey Berman Foundation and the Leon C. and June W. Holt Endowment.<\/p>\n
\u201cRevolution Retold: Commemorating American Independence in Art and Design,\u201d through Oct. 18, Allentown Art Museum, 31 N. Fifth St., Allentown, Gallery hours: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Third Thursdays. 610-432-4333; https:\/\/www.allentownartmuseum.org\/<\/p>\n
\u201cGallery View\u201d is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO BY ED COURRIERAllentown Art Museum Associate Curator Claire McRee curated \u201cRevolution Retold: Commemorating American Independence in Art and Design,\u201d Rodale Gallery, Allentown Art Museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published October 15. 2026 01:20AM \u201cRevolution Retold: Commemorating American Independence in Art and Design,\u201d with selections from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-307000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}