TIME Covers the 1960s

September 26, 2014 - August 9, 2015

Week in and week out, Time magazine covered the 1960s using all manner of covers created by some of the foremost artists of the day. This exhibition of original cover art from the museum’s Time collection explored a selection of the major newsmakers, trends and happenings that defined the 1960s, known as the “Age of Aquarius.” It began with the Kennedy inauguration and a presidency nicknamed “Camelot” and ended with “one giant leap for mankind,” as Apollo 11 ferried people to the surface of the moon and back.

In the intervening years, Time covered the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, escalation of the Vietnam War, civil rights, the women’s movement and cultural phenomena such as the Beatles, hippies and the sexual revolution. National Portrait Gallery historian James Barber was the curator of this exhibition.