The Unveiling of the National Icons: A Plea for Patriotic Iconoclasm in a Nationalist Era

by Albert Boime

In The Unveiling of the National Icons, Albert Boime analyses the creation and reception of several American national monuments as a means of understanding the politics of memory and national icons. In engaging, 'behind the scenes' accounts of several highly visible symbols, such as the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore, among others, he demonstrates how these icons have been manipulated for patriotic purposes. Boime also shows how these monuments express individual and collective needs and how they are subject to contested readings, despite their origins in the creative imaginations of conservatives and privileged members of America. Examining these symbols as a group for the first time, this book is also the first serious investigation of visual artifacts that are too often taken for granted.

447 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 1997

About the author

Albert Boime, was an American art historian and author of more than 20 art history books and numerous academic articles. He taught at the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1968 until 1972, at Binghamton University from 1972 until 1978, and at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1979 until his death.