Woody Guthrie's Guitar, A Gettysburg Photo: 5 Must-sees At The Huntington's New America 250 Exhibit

A transverse conception of a 250-year-old Pasadena oak character that was uprooted successful a 1993 windstorm is among nan first things visitors will spot upon entering nan Huntington’s caller exhibit, “This Land Is…” Jagged cracks successful nan trunk, which was erstwhile rooted successful nan Huntington’s lawn, are feebly held together by woody joints.

It’s a fitting emblem of what’s to travel successful a long-planned show curated to coincide pinch nan country’s upcoming semiquincentennial, and crafted to airs onshore itself arsenic cardinal to nan country’s analyzable past. After taking successful nan exhibit, attendees tin tie their ain conclusions astir nan land’s domiciled arsenic a “geographical and metaphorical abstraction of promise, struggle, and belonging.”

On a caller precocious afternoon, nan Pasadena sun drilled down connected nan destruction of nan Huntington’s MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, wherever nan show’s organizers waited beside 4 chopped columns pinch their hands tucked down their backs, swaying successful anticipation.

“It’s nan first clip anyone is seeing it,” said Linde B. Lehtinen, nan museum’s elder curator of photography.

Joining her are Josh Garrett-Davis, curator of Western American history, and Armando Pulido, adjunct curator for typical projects. All 3 grin pinch excitement.

For nan amended portion of nan past 2 and a half years, Lehtinen and Garrett-Davis person spearheaded nan curation of “This Land Is…,” which opens Sunday and runs done early adjacent year.

For them nan fallen oak character represents dream amid disturbance: Another once-towering elder connected nan museum’s North Vista was uprooted during a windstorm successful 2025 — 1 of its acorns has since germinated and now stands much than 6-feet tall.

Still, it only brushes nan aboveground of an accumulation that seamlessly draws upon a plethora of useful crafted crossed U.S. history. Want to scheme a visit? Here are 5 things you shouldn’t miss seeing.

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“This instrumentality kills fascists,” etched connected nan backmost of Woody Guthrie’s guitar connected show astatine The Huntington.  (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

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A person position of nan “This Machine Kills Facists” etching.  (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Woody Guthrie’s guitar, inscribed pinch ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’

In 1940, Woody Guthrie sat successful a Midtown Manhattan hotel, toiling complete lyrics for what would go “This Land Is Your Land.” Today, it’s been adopted arsenic a quasi-anthem for nan U.S. and nan epitome of American progressivism.

For this exhibition, nan depository acquired Guthrie’s C.F. Martin and Co. guitar, a seamless blend of spruce, mahogany, celluloid, ebony and mother-of-pearl. On its back, a carved inscription reads, “This Machine Kills Fascists.”

“The thought for ‘This Land Is…’ emerged … because nan scope and breadth of his sound successful position of his activism and really prolific he was … and reasoning astir really he reflected connected and knowledgeable American land,” Lehtinen said.

Alongside nan guitar is simply a transcript of nan Declaration of Independence, annotated by John McKesson, caput of New York’s Fourth Provincial Congress, successful nan days pursuing July 4, 1776. According to Lehtinen, nan 2 objects were paired arsenic instruments of protestation and change.

“We talked to [Guthrie’s] granddaughter Anna Canoni, and she said to america astatine 1 constituent that he utilized guitars for illustration pens aliases tools, and that was truthful due to really we were reasoning astir its narration to this document,” she added.

A representation of nan Butte Community, Gila River Relocation Center drawn by an internee.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Japanese flower farmers photographed before, during and aft internment

Not acold from nan Guthrie guitar is simply a panoramic image of nan Kuromi family, posing amid a flower workplace that stood wherever Los Feliz Boulevard is now. To its correct is simply a watercolor coating of nan Gila River War Relocation Center successful Arizona, wherever galore members of nan family were forcibly transported to and imprisoned during World War II.

“I was looking astatine a historical preservation report, and nan sanction was nan aforesaid arsenic my mechanic successful Los Feliz,” Garrett-Davis said. “The adjacent clip I went to get my lipid changed, I took a printout of that view and was going to show it to them and ask, ‘Do you cognize thing astir this? Is this related?’

“I walked into their office, and a transcript of that photograph had been connected their wall for years. In 10 years, I had ne'er noticed it,” he said pinch a laugh.

After their internment, nan Kuromi family returned to their workplace successful 1945 to find their instrumentality stolen. The process of regaining entree to their onshore was slow, but they yet settled backmost in, and operated nan workplace until losing their lease successful 1961.

‘A Harvest of Death’ and message from location connected nan Civil War front

One of nan astir grotesque displays connected position is an albumen people of an 1863 photograph titled “A Harvest of Death,” taken by Timothy H. O’Sullivan aft nan Battle of Gettysburg. Within its framework lies nan bodies of fallen soldiers, sprawled retired and lifeless connected nan grass.

“That evocative title signals immoderate of nan different things that we person been reasoning about, whether it’s looking astatine gardens aliases nonaccomplishment … successful this case, these are bodies that person been left, and they’re decomposing,” Lehtinen said.

Paired pinch nan people is simply a missive from a young female named Harriet Bailey to her uncle connected nan beforehand lines of nan Civil War, containing seeds delicately etched pinch drawings of a ship, facesand a dog. The 2 pieces correspond a stark opposition successful experiences during nan aforesaid conflict, erstwhile again rubbing upon nan taxable of dream amid disturbance.

“This is simply a remnant of location that he’s really being sent while connected nan battlefield,” she continued. “So, nan joyousness and lightness to what is an incredibly somber infinitesimal successful American history.”

“Archiving nan Watershed” is simply a postulation of artifacts from nan Colorado River assembled by Otis R. “Dock” Marston connected display.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The Colorado River, mapped retired done an adventurer’s eyes

This show is described arsenic a “tiny slice” of nan Huntington’s archive connected Otis Reed “Dock” Marston, a historiographer and stream runner who made it his life’s extremity to cod accusation connected nan Colorado River. According to Garrett-Davis, Marston had astir 185 binders afloat of photographs, often placed connected a cut-out representation of wherever they were taken and organized mile-by-mile, from beneath nan U.S.-Mexico separator each nan measurement into Utah.

This taps into a focal constituent of nan exhibition: adapting it to a West Coast perspective. In this way, nan thought of independency is viewed expansively arsenic it unfolds crossed clip and place.

“The Huntington has a awesome postulation of statesmanlike papers and documents relating to nan Colonial era, but we besides person materials connected California … from nan lens of nan West,” said Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence.

“We tin show nan West’s ocular civilization astatine nan aforesaid clip that we tin show nan original copies of nan Declaration of Independence … we person a breadth that’s rather rare.”

Artist Noni Olabiisi’s, “Troubled Island” mural connected canvas, depicting nan struggling of nan Haitian revolution.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

‘Troubled Island’ and a mirrored struggle

The Haitian Revolution whitethorn look retired of spot successful an accumulation celebrating nan U.S., but Haiti was nan 2nd independent federation successful nan Western Hemisphere. Its independency from nan French was proclaimed successful 1804, conscionable 2 decades aft nan American colonies signed nan Treaty of Paris.

In nan mural “Troubled Island,” Noni Olabisi chronicles nan Haitian struggle for independence, including really suffering nether French colonists led to nan 1791 enslaved rebellion. The portion was first painted for nan William Grant Still Arts Center successful West Adams successful 2003, referencing an opera of nan aforesaid name.

The opera was composed by Still pinch a libretto from nan Missouri-born poet, playwright, novelist and societal activistic Langston Hughes, who connected Haiti’s struggle for state to his location country’s.

“We wanted to attraction connected parts that mightiness look peripheral but are really rather cardinal to American history,” Garrett-Davis said.

Three years later, Olabasi would render nan aforesaid powerful mural connected canvas.