| Explore the multitude of ways governments, businesses, and citizens reflected upon and marked the 200th anniversary of the nation’s independence. Drawing exclusively from the State Museum’s own collections, “Spirit of 76: The Bicentennial” showcases an assortment of never-before-exhibited artifacts and artworks produced 50 years ago as part of the energy and excitement of the Bicentennial.
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Opening February 14, 2026
Polyester pants and platform shoes; pinball machines and Parliament Funkadelic; petroleum crises and presidential pandemonium. That’s right – the State Museum is going back to the Seventies for this upcoming exhibition. In 1976, Americans looked to heal the wounds wrought by the tumultuous 1960s and put aside their many differences in a widespread celebration of the nation’s 200th birthday. Drawing exclusively from the State Museum’s own collections, Spirit of ‘76: The Bicentennial showcases an assortment of never-before-exhibited artifacts and artworks produced fifty years ago as part of the energy and excitement of the Bicentennial. Highlights include masterpieces of porcelain by the Cybis studio of Trenton, silkscreen and lithographic prints by New Jersey-native Jacob Lawrence and other American artists from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio and a handcrafted cotton album quilt made by a group of first-time fiber artists from Princeton. Can you dig it?
| Explore the multitude of ways governments, businesses, and citizens reflected upon and marked the 200th anniversary of the nation’s independence. Drawing exclusively from the State Museum’s own collections, “Spirit of 76: The Bicentennial” showcases an assortment of never-before-exhibited artifacts and artworks produced 50 years ago as part of the energy and excitement of the Bicentennial.
|
Opening February 14, 2026
Polyester pants and platform shoes; pinball machines and Parliament Funkadelic; petroleum crises and presidential pandemonium. That’s right – the State Museum is going back to the Seventies for this upcoming exhibition. In 1976, Americans looked to heal the wounds wrought by the tumultuous 1960s and put aside their many differences in a widespread celebration of the nation’s 200th birthday. Drawing exclusively from the State Museum’s own collections, Spirit of ‘76: The Bicentennial showcases an assortment of never-before-exhibited artifacts and artworks produced fifty years ago as part of the energy and excitement of the Bicentennial. Highlights include masterpieces of porcelain by the Cybis studio of Trenton, silkscreen and lithographic prints by New Jersey-native Jacob Lawrence and other American artists from the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio and a handcrafted cotton album quilt made by a group of first-time fiber artists from Princeton. Can you dig it?