Media Advisory: Press preview for the new exhibition “The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now”

WHAT:    Press preview for the new exhibition “The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now”

WHEN:    Thursday, April 6.    10–11:30 a.m.

WHERE:    Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Eighth and G streets N.W.

WHO:    Kim Sajet, director, National Portrait Gallery
David C. Ward, senior historian and director of scholarly programs, National Portrait Gallery
Taína Caragol, curator of painting and sculpture and Latino art and history, National Portrait Gallery
Dorothy Moss, curator of painting and sculpture, National Portrait Gallery
Asma Naeem, associate curator of prints, drawings and media arts, National Portrait Gallery 

ARTISTS:  Ashley Gilbertson, Emily Prince, Louie Palu, Stacy Pearsall and Idil Ibrahim representing Tim Hetherington

The 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 7 through Jan. 28, 2018. It 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.

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.

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