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In 2008, the US National Endowment for the Humanities launched Picturing America to educate the American public about their country’s artistic heritage and to tell America’s story through its art. To that end, 40 reproductions of American masterpieces were sent to schools and libraries across the United States.

This month, the exhibition has made its way to Indonesia, courtesy of the US Embassy, and is on display until April 23 at the Galeri Salihara in South Jakarta.

“The exhibition opens a small door into the realm of America’s history, which is visually represented by their own artists,” said Rama Thaharani, Salihara’s promotions manager.

The circle-shaped gallery presents the Picturing America masterpieces in chronological order. The journey begins with photos of pottery and baskets dating from the 12th century to the 20th century, and then moves on to a portrait of the first president of the United States, George Washington, painted in 1796 by the American portraitist Gilbert Stuart.

An oil painting by N.C. Wyeth depicts a proud-looking Native American with symbols painted on his body and face, holding a bow and arrow in his hand. Wyeth’s painting was later used on the illustration cover for James Fenimore Cooper’s famous novel “The Last of the Mohicans.” Another interesting picture of the period shows George Catlin painting a portrait of a Native American chief, Mah-to-toh-pa, standing at the center and wearing a traditional feather headdress, while his fellow tribesmen look on in astonishment.

The exhibit also features key moments in American history, including a well-known black-and-white photograph of Abraham Lincoln, who was president from 1861 to 1865, sitting on a chair, and looking into the camera with the hint of a wise smile. The picture was taken by the Scottish-American photographer Alexander Gardner four days before Lincoln was assassinated.

An iconic photograph from the Great Depression of the 1930s, “Migrant Mother and Children,” by photojournalist Dorothea Lange, depicts a destitute mother with two young children burying their faces behind her shoulders. Lange rose to fame with her photo series of the Great Depression that presented the human face of the period. In “Migrant Mother and Children,” taken in 1936, the mother’s face is the epitome of fatigue and hopelessness.

There are also works that reflect the history of African-Americans, most notably a painting by African-American artist Jacob Lawrence, who created the “Migration Series.” The series portrayed the migration of almost two million African-Americans from the southern part of the United States to the north, midwest and west from 1910 to 1930.

Also displayed in the exhibition are works that depict everyday life, like Mary Cassatt’s 1893 painting “The Boating Party,” which shows a mother with a child on her lap enjoying a boat ride. There are festive scenes captured in a painting by Thomas Hart Benton, “Sources of Country Music” (1975), which portrays the musical traditions that helped shape American country music — a barn dance with fiddlers, three young women with hymnals, young couples dancing to an Appalachian dulcimer, an African-American with a banjo and a cowboy with a guitar.

There are also 20th century architectural images, including the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, an example of the groundbreaking architecture that has shaped the New York City skyline.

Looking at America through these masterpieces brings its history closer, not only to the American public, but also to a country as far away as Indonesia.