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Titus Kaphar and Junius Brutus Stearns: Pictures More Famous than the Truth juxtaposes famous 19th-century paintings of George Washington with contemporary portraits and sculptural works that offer 21st-century perspectives of those same subjects.

For the first time, five paintings by Junius Stearns, made from 1849 to 1856, are assembled together. The paintings depict George Washington in historical scenes that took place before, during, and after the American Revolution. Stearns played a key role in mythologizing George Washington, doing so with a degree of creative license.

As a response to the ubiquity and fame of Stearns's portrayals, Titus Kaphar asserts that such depictions are "more famous than the truth." Kaphar is known for his imaginative paintings and sculptures of historical figures. His portraits of George Washington are additions, like amendments, to traditional pictures of the nation's first president. They also bring the lesser-known stories of enslaved individuals to the forefront of the national narrative regarding that period in American history.

Titus Kaphar and Junius Brutus Stearns: Pictures More Famous than the Truth is organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Dr. Leo G. Mazow, VMFA's Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art. This exhibition is in recognition of VA250, the Commonwealth of Virginia's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the Independence of the United States.