Review: National Gallery of Art’s 'Dear America' needs a postscript, Washington City Paper says

The National Gallery of Art’s spring exhibition 'Dear America' has drawn praise for its ambition and scale, but a new review in Washington City Paper contends the show ultimately demands a postscript. The City Paper piece argues the exhibition — which gathers contemporary photographic responses to American identity and history — raises unresolved tensions and interpretive gaps that the critic says need further framing or programming.

The review highlights individual works in the gallery’s displays, including Mitch Epstein’s large-format photograph 'Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Six Grandfathers, South Dakota 2018,' which the National Gallery lists as a recent gift from the artist (accession 2025.70.3). Washington City Paper published the critique alongside images from the exhibition and called attention to the difficulty of presenting the nation’s complex past in a single gallery presentation.

The City Paper review serves as a local-cultural response to the show, joining other audience and institutional reactions that will shape how Washington audiences interpret the National Gallery’s curatorial choices. The paper’s critique frames 'Dear America' as an important, if incomplete, institutional effort — one that may prompt the museum to add context, programming, or interpretive materials in response to local conversation.