Smithsonian to present ‘1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions’
The Smithsonian”™s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., is presenting has announced “1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions,” marking the 125th anniversary of the year that the U.S. emerged as a world power through its acquisition of overseas territories.
This is the first major Smithsonian exhibition to focus on the three events that expanded U.S. influence across the Caribbean and the Pacific: Spanish-American War (which the Smithsonian calls the “War of 1898”), the Congressional Joint Resolution to annex Hawaii (July 1898), the Philippine-American War (1899”“1913). The exhibition examines the advocacies of those who supported these territorial expansions and those who opposed it leading period artists Winslow Homer, Armando GarcÃa Menocal, Juan Luna, Francisco Oller y Cestero, John Singer Sargent and Frederic Remington are on view alongside archival documents and merchandise, including board games that were created to gain public support for the U.S. government”™s policies.
“In 1898, the United States began to emerge as a world power, employing a newly modernized naval fleet to engage and defeat the Spanish navy in both Manila and Cuba,” said Kate Clarke Lemay, the exhibition”™s co-curator. “As the country expanded through seizing overseas territories, including Hawaii, it also looked to control access to the sea, an effort culminating with the construction of the Panama Canal in 1913. The year 1913 also witnessed the final skirmishes of the Philippine-American War, a conflict whose brutality shocked many and incurred vehement debates in the United States about imperialism. Although often overlooked, this period of U.S. history was pivotal in terms of the country”™s emergence as a world power, and its consequences continue to influence international policies.”
“1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions” opens on April 28 and will remain on display through Feb. 25, 2024. More information is available on the National Portrait Gallery”™s website.
Photo: “President William McKinley” by Francisco Oller y Cestero, oil on canvas, 1898. Collection of Dr. Eduardo Pérez and family.