The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery presents “The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now,” an exhibition focused on the psychological impact and consequences of modern warfare on those who serve. The exhibition will be on view April 17 through Jan. 28, 2018. The exhibition will include more than 50 objects, including paintings, photographs, drawings and single-channel video that convey the reality of the modern soldier within the context of a culture that has, in many ways, normalized warfare. 

“In ‘The Face of Battle,’ the distant experience of combat is brought closer through art, serving as a poignant reminder that defending American interests overseas has a lasting effects on families and communities,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “Following a long tradition of combat art, the exhibition focuses on the brave soldiers who uphold our freedoms through personal sacrifice.”

The exhibition is a continuation of the “Portraiture Now” series, devoted to bringing visibility to formal developments in the field of portraiture. Six featured artists offer an emotional and psychological perspective of battle and its repercussions: Ashley Gilbertson, Tim Hetherington, Louie Palu, Stacy Pearsall, Emily Prince and Vincent Valdez. Through portraits of deployed soldiers in combat and off duty and representations of empty bedrooms and of lives lost, these artists forge a stronger connection to the personal ramifications of war and reveal deeper perspectives on the lives affected.

The curators for this exhibition are Senior Historian and Director of Scholarly Programs David C. Ward; Curator of Painting and Sculpture and Latino Art and History Taína Caragol; Curator of Painting and Sculpture Dorothy Moss; and Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and Media Arts Asma Naeem.

This exhibition is sponsored by Altria Group and made possible through the support of its leadership committee: Mr. and Mrs. Michael H. Podell, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Uhler, The Murrell Foundation and Ronnyjane Goldsmith. Additional support received from the Rebecca Houser Westcott Fund for Portraiture Now and the American Portrait Gala Endowment.

National Portrait Gallery

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of America through the individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000. Website: npg.si.edu.