Folger Shakespeare Library Announces New Exhibition: Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Folger Shakespeare Library will open Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era on October 4, 2025. The exhibition presents fourteen paintings from the Folger's collection that were originally displayed together in the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London. Seen on view together for the first time since the Boydell Gallery closed in 1805, the paintings offer depictions of pivotal scenes from Shakespeare's plays while also speaking to a larger narrative of how the playwright was refashioned into a cultural icon during the 18th century.

"The reception of Shakespeare has a complex, and at times, difficult history. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to illustrate for our audiences how Shakespeare was placed upon a pedestal a century or more after his death," said Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper. "Across our galleries, we aim to show people how Shakespeare, as a man of the theater, worked when he was alive. With Imagining Shakespeare, we can show audiences how this narrative was deliberately transformed during the time of British Imperialism."

Imagining Shakespeare reveals an important confluence of artistic ambition, commercial enterprise, and nationalism when publisher John Boydell (1720–1804) launched an initiative to commission dramatic scenes from Shakespeare's plays by leading British artists of the Regency period. Through these artistic commissions, and the engravings and multi-volume edition of Shakespeare's illustrated plays readily available for sale at the gallery, Boydell sought not only to elevate British artists but also to enshrine Shakespeare as both the enduring national icon and export of the British Empire.

The Folger's exhibition utilizes a layout inspired by the salon-style display at the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. It opened in 1789 at the fashionable address of 52 Pall Mall, as the first public gallery in the UK, and on display were 34 paintings from more than 21 Shakespeare plays. By 1802 there were more than 160 pieces of Shakespeare-centric art in the gallery. The Folger's 14 paintings comprise the largest existing collection from the Boydell Gallery remaining today. Included are scenes from The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and King Lear, as well as a large-format scene from the final act of Romeo and Juliet by James Northcote, which has been relocated from the Folger's Reading Room specifically for this exhibition. Another life-size painting, The Infant Shakespeare Attended by Nature and the Passions by George Romney, directly puts forth the idea of Shakespeare as a "native genius" from birth. Alongside the paintings, original engravings from the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery will be on rotating view during the exhibition.

Imagining Shakespeare: Mythmaking and Storytelling in the Regency Era will be on view in the Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall until August 2, 2026. The Folger Shakespeare Library is located at 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003, and is open Tuesday–Sunday from 11am–6pm, with extended Friday hours until 9pm. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $15. Visitors may also reserve timed-entry passes. Related events and talks will be listed on the Folger website. The Folger Shakespeare Library is located at 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC. For more information about the exhibition, please visit: folger.edu/boydell.

The press kit, with the exhibition's brochure and selected photographs, is available here: folger.edu/boydell-shakespeare-presskit/.

About Folger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare's stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a cultural organization where curiosity and creativity are embraced, and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from path-breaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger welcomes everyone to connect in their own way—from communities throughout Washington, DC, to communities across the globe. Learn more at www.folger.edu.

SOURCE Folger Shakespeare Library