Heritage Area / Cultural District Network Archives

Baltimore Heritage

Baltimore National Heritage Area

EXHIBITS

homepage fratino 3840x0 c default@0.5x 768x407

Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again

Contemporary painter Louis Fratino enters into dialogue with Henri Matisse through figures, interiors, still lifes, and self-portraits. Drawn from the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Cone Collection, special loans, and new works by Fratino, the exhibition explores color, light, pattern, intimacy, and the emotional power of painting across two generations.

Matisse and Martinique: Portraits and Poetry

This Baltimore Museum of Art exhibition examines Henri Matisse’s engagement with Martinique through portraiture, poetry, and the cultural histories that shaped his work. It brings together artworks and contextual material to offer a fuller view of the people, place, and ideas behind the artist’s imagery.

Medieval Mindscapes

Medieval Mindscapes examines how books of hours used imagery and visual illusion to support intimate devotional practice in medieval Europe. Twenty works from the Walters’ rare books and manuscripts collection invite visitors to consider how readers imagined themselves within sacred scenes.

Raúl de Nieves: and imagine you are here

In the second presentation of The Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Biennial Commission, multimedia artist, performer, and musician Raúl de Nieves invites visitors to explore the wonder, beauty, and chaos of the natural world through the themes of emerging and becoming.

Born in 1983 in Michoacan, Mexico, and based in Brooklyn, de Nieves learned traditional Latin American sewing and beadwork in school and alongside family members, and uses those approaches in his work, which pays tribute to his family, his homeland, and Mexican folk art. He also accumulates and adorns every surface of his sculptural figures—both human and animal—to create fantastical creatures immersed in deeply narrative environments, imbued with both Catholic imagery and Mexican folklore motifs. The embellished figures also refer to another central tenet of de Nieves’ aesthetic: self-expression within queer club culture, such as the glitter and glitz of drag pageants.

Seeing the Essential: The Sigmund M. and Mary B. Hyman Collection of American Art

Drawn from the Sigmund M. and Mary B. Hyman Collection, this exhibition presents American art selected for its directness, quality, and expressive power. The installation highlights the collectors’ distinctive vision and the range of American artistic practice represented in their collection.

Screenshot 2026 07 24 at 4.40.22 PM 768x365

The Declaration’s Promise: A Revolutionary Idea

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Words can change the world. On July 4, 1776, the members of the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. The document laid out their case for separation from Great Britain and asserted the natural rights of the American people, accorded to them by their Creator, against a king who pursued “absolute Tyranny over these States.” The Declaration’s 1,337 words bound thirteen disparate colonies into a nation.

The Declaration’s principles became the shared vision of a new democratic way of government. Its ideals of equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness place human dignity and the rights of the individual at the forefront of our national consciousness. In its language, Americans have heard a call to rally for independence and self-government, to right longstanding injustices, and more. This exhibition shares collections from the Library of Congress that demonstrate Americans’ engagement with the Declaration. The scope of that engagement reflects the richness and complexity of the American experience.

We invite you to examine the ideas behind the Declaration and how Americans have taken its words for their own. What inspiration will you take? How will the Declaration shape the next two hundred and fifty years?

The Library of Congress gratefully acknowledges the generous support of David M. Rubenstein.

The David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery is dedicated to sharing the rarest, most interesting, or significant items created across the globe and drawn from every corner of the world’s largest library.

This exhibit is made possible through the generous support of:

The Boeing Company

The Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition

The 2026 Sondheim Art Prize exhibition presents work by finalists Thea Canlas, Leigh Davis, Brandon Donahue-Shipp, Curran Hatleberg, and Danni O’Brien. The annual prize supports visual artists and artist collaborators living and working in the greater Baltimore region.

Unmistakably Human

Unmistakably Human presents recent works by Signature Members of the Baltimore Watercolor Society. The exhibition celebrates the visible hand of the artist through a medium in which each brushstroke remains, featuring new paintings by members of one of the nation’s oldest watercolor organizations.

RECENT ADDITIONS

Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar

Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar preserves a designed landscape and welcomes visitors for horticultural, historical, and educational experiences.

Goodstay Gardens

Goodstay Gardens preserves a designed landscape and welcomes visitors for horticultural, historical, and educational experiences.

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame welcomes visitors to explore exhibitions and collections interpreting art, history, science, or culture.

Barratt’s Chapel and Museum

Barratt’s Chapel and Museum preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Old Swedes Historic Site

Old Swedes Historic Site preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Placeholder image

Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard and Copeland Maritime Center

Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard and Copeland Maritime Center welcomes visitors to explore exhibitions and collections interpreting art, history, science, or culture.

Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site

Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Pencader Heritage Museum

Pencader Heritage Museum preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Newark History Museum

Newark History Museum preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Milford Museum

Milford Museum preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Placeholder image

Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Valley State Park

Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Valley State Park welcomes visitors to explore exhibitions and collections interpreting art, history, science, or culture.

Laurel Heritage Museum

Laurel Heritage Museum preserves and interprets Delaware history through a publicly accessible historic site, exhibitions, tours, or programs.

Baltimore Heritage

Baltimore National Heritage Area

Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again

Matisse and Martinique: Portraits and Poetry

Medieval Mindscapes

Raúl de Nieves: and imagine you are here

Seeing the Essential: The Sigmund M. and Mary B. Hyman Collection of American Art

The Declaration’s Promise: A Revolutionary Idea

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition

Unmistakably Human

Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar

Goodstay Gardens

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame

Barratt’s Chapel and Museum

Old Swedes Historic Site

Placeholder image

Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard and Copeland Maritime Center

Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site

Pencader Heritage Museum

Newark History Museum

Milford Museum

Placeholder image

Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Valley State Park

Laurel Heritage Museum

Placeholder image

DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum

Old Library Museum

Willingtown Square

Discover locally. Connect globally. Strengthen culture.

QUICK LINKS

Newsletter