“Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era” at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
“Bardolatry:” the emphatic admiration of William Shakespeare, the one and only “Bard.” Arguably the quintessential symbol of British arts and culture, Shakespeare wasn’t always the definitive man, myth, and legend that we know him as today. Largely, because of efforts in the 1700s, William Shakespeare, though popular in his day, eventually graduated to mythic status. We have acclaimed 18th-century actor David Garrick’s “Shakespeare Jubilee,” spurring a Shakespearean resurgence while elevating Stratford-on-Avon to tourist-worthy status. Prominent writers of the day heralded the playwright as a master of our “noblest tendernesses” and “strongest emotions.” Samuel Johnson’s 1785 dictionary references Shakespeare’s work no less than 17,000 times. Then of course, there is the art.
…a chance to experience the Bard beyond the page and even beyond the stage.
The Folger Shakespeare Library—DC’s world-renowned depository of all things Shakespeare—is currently highlighting 18th-century art inspired by the Bard’s plays in an exhibit entitled “Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era.” Running now through August 2, 2026, this exhibit takes as its starting point the gallery of John Boydell. Open a relatively short period of time (1789-1805), Boydell’s gallery was, as described by one researcher, part of the “high-water moment of Bardolatry.” Another calls the gallery’s offerings the 18th-century equivalent of binge-watching Shakespeare. Boydell gave all to his passion project, commissioning leading English painters to create pieces representing scenes from a number of now iconic comedies, tragedies, and histories. Fueling a heightened sense of Englishness and a new wave of middle-class artistic curiosity, Boydell’s gallery, for a spell, became the talk of the town.
Paintings depicting scenes from “Romeo and Juliet,” “Taming of the Shrew,” and “The Tempest” among others, occupied the whole of the picture gallery, as access to this form of “high culture” helped usher in the modern-day concept of museum. Legend has it, Jane Austen even perused the collection. To further capitalize on this Shakespearean momentum, Boydell sold engravings of the celebrated paintings to the public at large—his version of a gift shop. Eventually the subscriptions dropped off, the Jane Austens of the world stopped showing up, and Boydell had to sell, or rather, raffle it all off. A single winner, William Tassie, then put the pieces up at auction. The paintings were dispersed, none of them ever to be displayed together again. Until now.
The Folger is currently doing what hasn’t been done since Boydell’s exhibit. They’ve brought together 14 of the paintings originally on display at 52 Pall Mall, London. Palpably recreating the vibe, the atmosphere, and the ambiance of Boydell’s gallery—right down to the slate blue wall color—the Folger’s exhibit reinforces the fact of Shakespeare’s accessibility by bringing an otherwise forgotten phase of Bardolatry-in-the-making to the most iconic Shakespeare museum in the world.
Walk through just as Jane did and marvel at the sheer scope and size of “Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene III.” According to exhibit curator Erin Blake, this larger-than-life painting, which had been occupying the balcony space above the Reading Room, was brought down especially to anchor the exhibit. Blake explains that allowing people to come face-to-face with this life-size piece, to experience this incredibly expansive 9 foot x 11 foot painting up close and personal, became a key curatorial moment for her. As one of Blake’s personal favorites, this particular piece is both “overwhelming” and an example of a “good history painting,” and one that “shows a critical moment just before something changes, and the entire story takes a turn.” Juliet wakes up from her potion-induced slumber. She glances at the Friar, believing all is well—their plan worked! Alas, the dead bodies strewn about her tell a decidedly different tale as she starts to realize what actually happened. Standing in the shadow of this massive painting and looking at the history of this theatrical moment unfold with this level of detail is something that every Shakespeare lover needs to experience.
Coming out of a multi-year renovation project, the Folger is ready and eager to spotlight why bardolatry is still very much alive right here in the nation’s capital. Senior Communications Manager, Colleen Kennedy, wants the area’s literati, as well as those who simply love the work of William Shakespeare, to have a chance to experience the Bard beyond the page and even beyond the stage. While certainly the Folger is known for having the world’s largest collection of First Folios as well as for its superior Shakespeare-inspired productions, there is so much more to understanding the writing, life, and times of the world’s seminal playwright.
Among the highlights of the Boydell exhibit beyond the undeniably magnificent “Romeo & Juliet,” is “King Lear, Act 4, Scene 7,” depicting the fated reconciliation between Lear and the estranged Cordelia. A piece titled “The infant Shakespeare attended by Nature and the Passions” by George Romney offers a rather deistic look at the imagined birth of a once-in-a-lifetime writer. The painting quite literally portrays the infant as Godlike, thus fanning the bardolatrous flames. “The Taming of the Shrew, act IV, scene I: Katherine, Petruchio, and Grumio” adds a bit of 18th-century flair to Renaissance-era drama. In this piece, Kate is a walking fashion plate for the style of the times.
Greylag Goose
Panel 2 of de Brys Slipstream
The Folger is on a mission to show off its Shakespeare—in painting as much as on the page. To this end, the historic DC institute has also established an ongoing Artistic Fellowship. For the first time in the esteemed organization’s history, they are exhibiting solo shows by Folger Fellows. Rotating among four recent fellows—Elise Ansel, Missy Dunaway, Dominick Porras, and Mandy Cano Villalobos—the solo exhibit emphasizes a modern-day connection with the spirit of Shakespeare. “Contemporary Art at the Folger” spotlights a variety of media and perspectives. Missy Dunaway’s ambitious “The Birds of Shakespeare,” as the name suggests, depicts the numerous birds mentioned throughout Shakespeare’s oeuvre, cleverly blending illustration with folkloric backstory. While Dominick Porras evocatively merges 16th-century engravings of colonial representation with digital interventions that tell an all-too timely story.
Story is, in fact, behind much of what the Folger is trying to do with its renewed emphasis on introducing Shakespeare to the public through art as well as writing and theater. As Erin Blake prompts, “think about how stories are told visually; pictures represent more than just what they seem on the surface.” In these new art exhibits, now on display at the Folger, there is certainly much more to the story than how it may appear on the surface, and that is for you to interpret.
“Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era”‘ runs through August 2. 2026 at The Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. All of the exhibits are free and open to the public. You can reserve a timed-entry pass HERE. For more information on these exhibits and for more on The Folger’s current offerings and renovation project please go online.
