Enfilade

From the press release for the presentation and series of exhibitions:

America 250 at the MFAH

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 July 2026 — 3 January 2027

Organized by Kaylin Weber and Christine Gervais

Joshua Johnson (ca. 1765–after 1825), Lady on a Red Sofa, 1820–25, oil on canvas, 30 × 25 inches (MFAH, 2026.5).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston marks the 250th anniversary of America’s founding with a roster of more than 70 artworks that speak to the American experience from across its campus and collections—from antiquities to global modern and contemporary art. Beginning 1 July 2026, visitors to the MFAH main campus and its two decorative-arts house museums, Rienzi and Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, can map their own pathway, indoors and out, guided to the artworks and newly created audio stops and labels that discuss each of them from this historical and cultural perspective.

Comments Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH, “The collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston take pride of place within our galleries and our curators are continually engaging with and revisiting these works of art. On the occasion of the nation’s 250th anniversary, we saw a singular opportunity to look at our collections and select objects that reflect the multitudes of individuals who have contributed to the identity of our nation. The curators’ choices will allow our visitors to experience our collections framed within a series of illuminating and sometimes surprising narratives.”

The America 250 presentation has been organized by Dr. Kaylin H. Weber, The Lora Jean Kilroy Curator of American Painting and Sculpture, and by Christine Gervais, MFAH Curator for Decorative Arts and the Fredricka Crain Director of Rienzi.

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A New Nation: The Early United States as Reflected in Books and Objects

from the Powell Library and the Bayou Bend Collection

Kitty King Powell Library, MFAH, 1 May — 29 August 2026

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this display features books and objects from the early years of the United States representing various achievements and aspects of the period. The first encyclopedia printed in America by Thomas Dobson celebrated the country’s new identity, its history, and geography. It also presented the latest international technological and scientific discoveries that supported economic development. Other works demonstrate the importance of maintaining the military strength and strategic alliances that enabled the victory over Britain and that would also be needed to protect the citizens’ hard-won liberty. Surveying instruments and manuals assisted the country’s rapid expansion into new territory. Items related to Benjamin Franklin represent the importance of the Founding Fathers to the society and culture of the new nation.

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George Washington: America’s Enduring Icon

Bayou Bend, MFAH, 11 February — 22 November 2026

George Washington: America’s Enduring Icon includes objects from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries featuring images of George Washington during his lifetime, as well as many that mourned or honored him after his death. On view at the MFAH house museum Bayou Bend, the exhibition examines the many ways that Americans have recognized, honored, celebrated, memorialized, and appropriated the memory of Washington.