National Gallery’s ‘Democracy’ looks at Southern European history and art

A new and timely exhibition titled "Democracy" that opens at the National Gallery of Art on Thursday explores the relationship of art with political history in southern Europe.

The exhibition will open to the public on Friday (July 12) and run to February 2, 2025.

It is the first large international exhibition that focuses on art in relation to democracy during one of the most defining times for the history of Southern Europe, when three countries in the region - Greece, Portugal, and Spain - transitioned from an authoritarian regime to a democratic state.

The National Gallery focuses on how the current social and political situation prevailing globally may be connected to the conflicts and unrest dominating Southern Europe in 1960 and 1970. In a background of a year including national elections in several countries and challenges to democratic values, the show...