About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits
In celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial, the Mattatuck Museum presents About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits, on view April 26 through August 16, 2026. The exhibition explores American history through the images and experiences of Americans spanning the past 250 years.
About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits considers portraiture as more than a record of appearance. The works in the exhibition show how artists have used portraiture to assert identity, navigate ideas of citizenship, and express belonging. From carefully constructed personas rooted in social status and power to contemporary portrayals of authenticity and visibility, these works capture and complicate the spirit of their era. The exhibition encourages audiences to see themselves in the story of America and to better understand how their history matters.
Drawing from the Mattatuck Museum’s collection as well as loans from other institutions, About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits examines the demographic and cultural transformations that have shaped the nation over 250 years. The exhibition also emphasizes the growing representation of women and marginalized groups in art, highlighting the ways portraiture has reflected and sometimes challenged social change. Spanning paintings, drawings, sculpture, and photography, the exhibition brings historic and modern works into conversation. From early American portraits shaped by European traditions to later works that challenge conventions around race, gender, and power, About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits highlights how ideas of representation have shifted over time.
By placing works from different periods side by side, About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits invites visitors to consider whose stories have been preserved, whose have been left out, and how portraiture continues to shape our understanding of the American experience. The exhibition underscores the lasting importance of portraiture as both an artistic practice and a way of seeing ourselves and one another.
About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits will be on view at the Mattatuck Museum, 144 West Main Street, Waterbury, Connecticut, from April 26 through August 16, 2026.
For more information or to register for programs, visit www.mattmuseum.org.
Admission
$20 Adults
$16 Seniors
$13 College Students (with ID)
$11 Children 6-18
FREE Members (Join now!), Military & Children Under 5
The Mattatuck Museum is proud to participate in Museums for All, offering $3 admission for up to four (4) individuals of the same group presenting a valid EBT card. Access for All @ The MATT is in effect during regular business hours and does not apply to special programs.
Free admission and programming for all on the Second Saturday of each month. Support provided by the Art Bridges Foundation
Blue Star Museum (year round)
Free admission for those currently serving in the United States Military—Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force, members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), DD Form 1173-1 ID card or the Next Generation Uniformed Services (Real) ID card. More information about the Blue Star Museum program.
RECIPROCAL MUSEUM ADMISSION
Members of the following museums receive FREE Admission to The MATT.
Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA
Bennington Museum, Bennington, VT
Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA
Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA
NARM
The Mattatuck Museum is a participating member of The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. Mattatuck members at the Household Plus level and higher are given NARM memberships as a benefit of membership @The MATT.
