“Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism” presents some of the key people—
scientists, politicians, activists, writers and artists—whose work has influenced attitudes toward
the environment in the United States from the late 19th century until today. The exhibition traces
a history of the movement from turn-of-the-20th-century conservationism to mid-20th-century
environmentalism and its backlash. It also addresses present-day action on environmental justice,
biodiversity and climate. Drawing mainly from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection,
“Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism” features more than 25 portraits of
people who have made an enduring impact on public perceptions of the natural world, including

the well-known figures Rachel Carson, George Washington Carver, Maya Lin, Henry David
Thoreau and Edward O. Wilson. The exhibition will bring together portraiture, visual biography
and the sitters’ own words to probe this important—and complicated—history. “Forces of
Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism” is guest curated by Lacey Baradel, former
science historian at the National Science Foundation, and will be on view from Oct. 20, 2023,
through Sept. 2, 2024.