HIDE/SEEK Exhibition Makes West Coast Debut

Now that it has seen openings in both Washington, D.C. and New York City, HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture will make its west coast debut at the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Wash.

Billed as "the first major museum exhibition to focus on themes of gender and sexuality in modern American portraiture," HIDE/SEEK travels in time from the late 19th century through to the present day via portraits that explore some of the most poignant issues of their day such as the Stonewall Riots and AIDS epidemic. Over 100 paintings, photographs, and other media represent artistic greats--such as Thomas Eakins, George Bellows, AA Bronson, Annie Leibovitz, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Nan Goldin--as they grapple with their individual visions of gender and sexual identity.

This is the exhibition's first and only visit to the west coast after its debut at the Smithsonian's National Portraiture Gallery and subsequent run in Brooklyn, New York. It runs in Tacoma from March 17 through June 10.

SLIDESHOW: Check out a selection of images from the show here.