In 1796, the renowned painter Gilbert Stuart received a long-anticipated commission: the President of the United States came to Stuart’s studio in Germantown, Philadelphia. Stuart would paint over 100 portraits of George Washington and a handful would become immortal—most notably the unfinished “Athenaeum” portrait, which stares back at us from the dollar bill. The exhibition “America at 250” brings together objects and artworks that have shaped the country’s identity. Here are just three: Paul Revere’s Sons of Liberty Bowl from 1768, considered the earliest piece of American protest art; a ceramic jar made in 1857 by David Drake, an enslaved potter; and contemporary works by Alan Michelson, a member of the Six Nations of the Grand River. —Elena Clavarino