Supernatural America

Supernatural America is an exploration into the haunting history of the United States. Ghosts from its violent past—the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and traumatic wars—are an inescapable and unsettled part of the nation’s heritage. These otherworldly visitors are not merely metaphorical but are present and tangible, urgently calling for contact, and have been central to our national identity.

Throughout times of mourning and trauma, artists have played a crucial role in visualising ghosts, whether national or personal. In doing so, they have embraced the uncanny and the inexplicable, helping to shape a rich visual culture around the intangible. This stunning catalogue accompanies the first major exhibition to assess the spectral in American art and explores the numerous ways American artists have understood their experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural.

The catalogue features a range of artists, from James McNeill Whistler and Kerry James Marshall to artist-mediums who created images with spirits during séances. It covers more than two hundred years of the supernatural in American art, showcasing works that delve into haunting, UFO sightings, and a broad spectrum of experiential responses to otherworldly contact.