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"Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States"

Inside The New Art Exhibit, First Ladies of the United States

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has unveiled one of the first major art exhibitions dedicated to America’s first ladies

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Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery explores 250 years of first ladies, showcasing 60 portraits from Martha Washington to Laura Bush. Curated by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, the exhibition sheds light on the stories, personalities, hardships and triumphs of each woman through paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, engravings and a video installation of photographs by Annie Leibovitz. Garments worn by first ladies Mary Todd Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama will also be on display through May 23, 2021.

Click through the gallery above for an inside look at Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States.

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