The Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Virginia is set to unveil its newest exhibit commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In conjunction with the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, museum leaders have created a four-room exhibit that showcases rare artifacts, paintings, and text that reflect the ideas and efforts of Virginians in the carving out of our nation. Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation opens Saturday, March 22, 2025, a date and title that coincides with the Virginia orator Patrick Henry’s famed “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech that helped ignite the spirit of revolution and galvanized Virginia delegates into action.
Henry is central to the exhibit, which features a brilliant portrait of him produced in 1815 by the artist Thomas Sully. On display below the painting is the whalebone paper-cutter that Henry dramatically plunged toward his chest like a dagger while delivering his famous speech in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond. The spectacles that Henry wore that day are also featured below his portrait.
“If his remarks were to be brief, his spectacles would remain on his nose,” reads text associated with the spectacles. “But if he was seen to give his spectacles a cant to the top of his wig, it was a declaration of war, and his adversaries must stand clear.” A multimedia presentation of Henry’s speech, reproduced by local actors inside the historic St. John’s Church is on view in the middle room with Henry’s famous words echoing through the exhibit.
The president and CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Jamie Bosket, who previously spent 10 years working at George Washington’s home of Mt. Vernon, says the exhibit hopes to “encourage people to embrace this moment, unique in our lifetime, for the 250th.”
“We brought together leadership from Williamsburg, from Monticello, from Mt. Vernon, from the national parks, from all the logical players in the space that could play a meaningful role,” Bosket tells me during a tour of the exhibit. “Our 250th initiative is a multi-year, multi-million dollar investment. This exhibit will be here for the year, it will go to the Yorktown Museum next year, a version of it will go to the Richmond International Airport, and to 50 other communities across Virginia. It has the potential to be exposed to millions of people.”
Bosket adds that the museum has launched a virtual tour that allows students and classrooms to visit, through vivid 360°-photography, the 15 most iconic and historic sites in Virginia as it relates to the exhibit. The museum is also making a legacy commitment to invest in civics education with an emphasis on reaching as many middle school students as possible throughout the state. “We hope to bring great American history in alignment and parallel with an understanding of our rights and responsibilities as citizens.”
The famous portrait of George Washington painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1772 lords over the first room as you enter the exhibit. The painting, on loan from Washington and Lee University, is paired with the silver-hilted smallsword that Washington wore during the French and Indian War and Washington’s ambitious letter to Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie after the 22-year-old commander of the Virginia Regiment ambushed a small French force in southwest Pennsylvania. The now-iconic letter serves as one of Washington’s first aired grievances toward the royal government of the British American colonies, who he believed had unjustly ignored his men’s performance in the French and Indian War.
“Gov. Youngkin has been an incredible champion of this museum,” Bosket notes. “He is very actively involved and they have been very supportive of the state’s commission. Regardless of party, there’s been an interest in Virginia being a standout in this moment and also bringing together Americans in this history.”
A rare 1833 copy of the Declaration of Independence brightens the center of the exhibit. The document, crafted by Peter Force, is a replica of William J. Stone’s 1823 engraving of the original Declaration which was commissioned on the 50th anniversary of the signing. Only 4,000 copies were created; the one on display at the VMHC is in immaculate condition, helping bring to life the aesthetics of the 19th century.
The exhibit will run through January 2026 at the Museum. Entry is $12, with discounts available for seniors, children, and military/veterans.
“Virginia’s cultural institutions are really aligned with making the most of the moment,” says Bosket. “Virginia’s history is American history, so we have an important role to play in getting this right to share the world-changing ideas that were born in Virginia.”
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