A sweeping exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence is now open at The Huntington. Called “THIS LAND IS …. Reflections for America at 250,” the show is on view through Jan. 11, 2027 at the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery.
Co-curated by Josh Garrett-Davis (H. Russell Smith Foundation Curator of Western American History), Linde Lehtinen (Philip D. Nathanson Senior Curator of Photography), and Armando Pulido (assistant curator for special projects), the retrospective’s title was inspired by Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is Your Land.”
The exhibition comprises six thematic sections that link ecological concepts to cultural and historical meanings: roots; uprootings; amendments; edge effects; disturbances; and regeneration. Among numerous displays, it showcases two annotated July 1776 copies of the Declaration of Independence, an inscribed Woody Guthrie guitar, historic documents including early Native American treaties and a Congressional resolution to pass the 13th Amendment, a manuscript by poet Walt Whitman, and contemporary photography by artist Cara Romero.
During the opening celebration and reception held on June 11 for the Society of Fellows, Avery Director of the Library Sandra Brooke Gordon remarked, “It should be no surprise that The Huntington would take to heart this essential American anniversary in 2026 just as it did a century ago. In March of 1927, only two months before Henry Huntington’s untimely death, because of the interest aroused for the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1926, the Library utilized the brand-new exhibition cases in its Main Hall to mount an exhibition of books and manuscripts relating to the history of the United States – from the discovery of America to the adoption of the Constitution.
“The Library’s ‘America at 150’ show proved so popular that over 5,000 visitors were admitted to see it between March and December of 1927. A century later, the magnificent show that we’re celebrating tonight anchors a larger cross-Huntington ‘This Land Is …’ initiative that invites visitors to reflect on the American story from before 1776 to the present through the lens of the land.”
According to Gordon, the ‘This Land Is …’ initiative includes art museum installations, a new Oak Meadow Garden, and programs and events for a wide-range of audiences – including an all-day community festival which will be held Sunday, June 28. A companion volume ‘This Land Is … Field Notes on American Ground,’ edited by Josh Garrett-Davis and Linde Lehtinen, features essays from Huntington contributors and multiple other writers, scholars, and artists, reflecting on the theme of the land and our relationship to it.
In addition to the Boone Gallery show, the “This Land Is …” initiative, the Art Museum under the guidance of Hannah and Russell Kully Director Christina Nielsen mounted a major reinstallation of its American galleries creating seven new areas dedicated to art of the Colonial Period through the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. These reimagined spaces examine issues of land, history, and identity within a global context. Recent acquisitions of works by Winslow Homer, Grafton Tyler Brown, Edward Mitchell Bannister, Argostino Brunias, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, and Nari Ward, along with historic documents such as signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation enhance the collection.
Also on view in the ‘Borderlands’ exhibition at the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries, are three new installations devoted to historic silhouettes by L.A. Laura Aguilar (1959-2018), Sandy Rodriguez (b.1975), and Mercedes Dorame (B. 1980).
Continued Gordon, “The Botanical Gardens, under the leadership of Telleen/Jorgensen Director Nicole Cavender, have created an Oak Meadow as their contribution to ‘This Land Is …’ It is a renovated garden space that helps connect the galleries at the heart of the campus with the outdoors while orienting us to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and connecting us to the people who came before us.”
“More than 5,000 plants representing over 55 species – most of them native to California – have been planted here along with 22 trees, including 16 oak species. Oaks, of course, are America’s national tree and they anchor this cherished space at The Huntington visually, culturally, and environmentally,” added Gordon as she invited guests to look at the mountainscape behind us. “I think it is one of the most beautiful views in America.”
“‘This Land Is …’ the Boone Gallery exhibition is the Library’s prime offering for America at 250,” said Gordon. “The library is one of the nation’s chief repositories for historical Americana and is justifiably famous for its holdings of Washington, Jefferson, and others of the nation’s founders. As stewards of these collections – unparalleled West of the Mississippi – we’ve known for several years that it would be both our privilege and responsibility to share them with L.A. audiences and beyond in the year of America’s 250th birthday.
“The show has been three years in the making … and it comes at a time when America’s civic square can feel more fraught than fruitful – where the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have never seemed more important that the pathways to achieving their promise as a nation isn’t always clear. The galleries of ‘This Land Is …‘ offer conversations across time and place among peoples grand and common, powerful and not. For all of them, as for all of us, land was and is a singular force central to questions of survival, identity, and belonging.
“At a time when listening can seem in short supply, please spend some quality time in this exhibition, listen, and converse with the many people you’ll meet there – from Thomas Jefferson and Woody Guthrie, to the Kuromi family, Langston Hughes, Otis Marston, and Noni Olabisi. I can promise it will repay the investment of your time. And these conversations, I hope, will help us all think differently and more deeply about the meaning and the promise of this national anniversary,” Gordon exhorted.
Because the exhibition is about land, Gordon acknowledged that The Huntington sits on the ancestral lands of the Gabrielino Tongva and Kizh nation peoples who continue to call this region home. She then presented the evening’s next speaker.
“We are privileged to have L.A.-based Tongva artist Mercedes Dorame here this evening to speak to this essential topic. Mercedes has been engaged with The Huntington for the past five years on a range of projects that integrate archival research and deep knowledge of the surrounding landscape. This has culminated in her installation ‘Deliquescence: Sites of Transformation’ that you can see in the American Art Gallery.”
Dorame introduced herself by her Tongva name and the village where her ancestors hailed, then said, “In thinking about ideas of land and the exhibitions connected to the ‘This Land Is…’ and the 250th birthday of the United States, I moved into ideas of the land intersecting ancient time, deep time, and time immemorial. When for thousands of years my Tongva ancestors cared for this land, it is an honor and a pleasure to be standing here today in acknowledgement of this presence. The land nourishes us, it reciprocates, and is full of care. I always ask myself how we can mend, relearn, connect, and know the land better to build a more reciprocal relationship. I believe this question holds space for immense potential and inspiration for all of us.
“For me connecting care to the land is not about looking to the past but at the vital active present necessary exercise. It’s not metaphorical, it means feeling the bark of the oak tree, or smelling all the different amazing scents of the rose garden, or looking at the sage and thyme that bloom seasonally. As an artist and a Tongva culture-bearer, I hope to shape an experience that allows us to move to an environment with our hearts more open, more connected, and more full of love.”
Dorame sang a song which came from ancestral recordings that contain messages. She said it was her way of embodying hikaye – breath, spirit, and wind in the Tongva language. It translates to “My heart is with you, the sun is rising; my heart is with you, do not be afraid.”
Co-curators Josh Garrett-Davis and Linde Lehtinen took the stage to acknowledge the countless people who were part of this massive undertaking. He thanked Dorame for her artwork and contributions to the book and two other Tongva representatives who worked with them to learn about indigenous presence in this land – artist and illustrator Samantha MJ Yang, who created the design of the Pasadena oak tree on the title walls at the entrance to the exhibition, and Wallace Cleaves who lent a recording of the acorn song by his Tongva great-great-grandmother Narcisa Higuera – which could be heard in the living room area of the Boone Gallery.
“’This Land Is …’, among other things, calls our attention to the endless ways we all use land metaphors when we talk about history, art, and national experience,” declared Garrett-Davis. “Through conversations with our colleagues in the botanical division, especially, we settled on structuring this exhibition around six sections that link ecological and cultural themes…. (And) the process of curating the exhibition has brought us through many other land analogies. We tracked through fields of collections, we dug deep into boxes and shelves, and sometimes fell down rabbit holes into particular stories or archival objects.”
Lehtinen continued with further acknowledgments and reflections using more land metaphors. “In our own backyard we want to thank all the incredible teams and colleagues at The Huntington who planted seeds, tended the sprouts of the exhibition, pruned out bad ideas, allowed us to cultivate the exhibition, and now hopefully watch it flourish. The project builds on the vision and the foundations established by our senior leadership, the advancement department, the president’s office, and other key stakeholders who made this possible.
“There may be many things around this particular anniversary, and indeed within this current national moment, that are seemingly thrown together and not really thought-out. That is not the case with this project. There is so much attention, precision, and passion woven into the many elements of ‘This Land Is …’ that nurtures and sustains us and shows what community and nation can be a their best.”
Gordon then came back one last time on the stage for a toast and said, “I would like to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln ‘Though passions may have strained, they must not break our bonds of affection. May the mystic cords of memory stretching over this broad land – and over this exhibition – inspire the better angels of our nature. To all of you and to this land!”
