Melvin Edwards is included in the group exhibition Past as Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgement, Part II at the National Academy of Design, New York, on view from February 6–April 26, 2025.
The National Academy of Design's press release follows:
Conceived as a call and response between historical and contemporary art, Past As Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment brings together politically potent historical works from the National Academy of Design’s collection with contemporary works that critically engage with the past and prompt fresh perspectives on our art historical origins.
Drawing from the Academy’s vast collection which spans nearly 200 years, Past as Prologue features both historical and contemporary works to explore themes from land to representation. Organized in two parts, the first section focuses on “Land and Territory” which include 19th-century landscapes of grand tour expeditions and paintings by members of Hudson River school whose works expressed the fantasies of the U.S. as uninhabited terrain.
Toggling between the 19th and 21st centuries, artworks in the exhibition represent colonialism and imperialism through sublime landscapes and institutional critique. Expanded ideas of landscape question extractive practices, westward expansion, with an emphasis on portraiture as a throughline in the National Academy’s collection.
The second installment of Past as Prologue takes up U.S. identity in its myriad forms, engaging themes like abolitionist movements, labor, national identity, race and Indigeneity, protest and political action, and social fabric.
Past as Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment is co-curated by Sara Reisman, Chief Curator, and Natalia Viera Salgado, Associate Curator.
