March 29 – August 11, 2003

Early in the 20th century, television was proclaimed as “a new window on the world.” In 2003, the Museum’s exhibition Picture This proved to be “a new window on the window.” While the window as a building element may seem simple, it has played a defining role in the architecture and culture of the American home for two centuries. It has even shaped our perspectives of the world beyond our homes. Windows have offered glimpses into American domestic life, and served as metaphors for openness and access. Picture This combined film and television clips, models, photographs, advertisements, and actual windows to tell this story. From dormers, picture windows, and ornamental bay windows, to futuristic “electronic windows,” Picture This offered new ways of seeing the windows to our world.