Virtual Tours

The exhibition, presented in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and award-winning author Candacy Taylor, offered an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising Black middle class.

The exhibition explores the gripping story of a Pittsburgh immigrant who endured poverty, tragedy, and other adversities to become one of the world’s most revered self-taught artists. 

Developed in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), this timely exhibit provides much-needed historical context following a year that included heated elections, civil unrest, and challenges to our democracy.

Featuring one of the largest loans of artwork ever shared by the Smithsonian’s prestigious National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., this virtual exhibition includes original paintings, photographs, sketches, and digital images that showcase more than 100 Americans with Western Pennsylvania connections.

Watch the entire tour or go section by section to learn more about each decade and the toys that influenced them.

Watch the entire tour or go section by section to learn more about Pittsburgh’s incredible role during WWII.