On exhibit

Shakespeare is part of American history and the Folger collection offers unique insights into his impact on American culture. Meet some of the political and cultural figures from America’s first 250 years and learn about their ties to Shakespeare.

In 2004, Barbie released two Shakespeare-inspired dolls for their Classic Ballet series: the fairy queen Titania from the 1962 ballet adaptation of Mendelssohn’s score for Midsummer and Juliet from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet 1940 ballet.

Shakespeare was familiar to George Washington and many other advocates for independence from Great Britain. They thought that he embodied the American spirit and adapted him to their uniquely American needs, in letters, speeches, and more.

Charlotte Porter and Helen Clarke were outliers in the world of Shakespeare editing and scholarship—female, queer, non-academic, and the first editors to base their edition and analysis on the text of Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623.

Explore collection items about early 20th-century performances outdoors by the Ben Greet Players, who played college campuses across the US—and eventually the front lawn of the White House, along with designs from the Folger’s 2026 production.

In 1936, Britain’s first feature-length Shakespeare “talkie” premiered: As You Like It featuring Elisabeth Bergner and Laurence Olivier in his first Shakespeare role on screen. Explore the film’s press kits and study guides.

Porras, a Folger Artist Fellow, shares what inspired him, from the Folger collection to Indigenous futurism, in the creation of his new media work, de Bry’s Slipstream.

Take a time machine back to 18th-century London and John Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery, visited by everyone who was anyone, from Jane Austen to the Prince of Wales. But why make a gallery devoted to Shakespeare? And who was Boydell?

Actress Sarah Siddons was 18th-century London’s best-known tragedienne, most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. An assortment of objects from our collection show her rise as an early star of modern celebrity culture.

Folger Artist Fellow Missy Dunaway shares what she’s learning while working on The Birds of Shakespeare, her project to paint the 65 birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works.

Ansel shares how her questions as an artist fellow about Fuseli’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth inspired her to create two abstract, large-scale oil paintings but this time from a woman’s perspective that celebrates the play’s sisterhood.

Discover books, costume sketches, and theatrical props for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Folger collection along with items from Folger Theatre’s production of Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.