Gezicht op het Palace of Fine Arts op de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 1893

Charles Dudley Arnold captured “Gezicht op het Palace of Fine Arts op de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893” in a photograph. Held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World, the fair became a stage to showcase American exceptionalism and progress. Yet, this narrative was built on the erasure and exploitation of indigenous peoples and immigrant labor. The grandeur of the Palace of Fine Arts, reflected in the still waters, mirrors the idealism of the era, while it obscures the complex realities beneath the surface. Arnold’s photograph, with its deliberate composition and classical architectural subject, invites us to reflect on the stories that world fairs choose to tell, and the ones they leave out. It serves as a reminder of the power of images to shape our understanding of history.