HISTORIC FLAGS, ICONIC IMAGES, PATRIOTIC ARTWORKS, AND COLLECTOR TREASURES REVEAL HOW AMERICA’S MOST ENDURING SYMBOL HAS EVOLVED ALONGSIDE THE NATION ITSELF
By Rhonda Reinhart | June 16, 2026
Few symbols carry as much meaning for Americans as the Stars and Stripes. More than a national emblem, the flag serves as a visual record of the country’s history, aspirations, triumphs, and challenges. Its changing star counts trace the growth of the United States, while its countless appearances in art, politics, military history, popular culture, and everyday life reveal the many ways Americans have understood and expressed their national identity. That rich history is celebrated in Heritage’s June 22 Elwood Taylor Collection of American Flags Showcase Auction. Built over decades, the collection highlights the remarkable diversity of American flag design, from handcrafted examples that reflect regional creativity to later flags shaped by advances in industrial production. As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, the collection offers a timely reminder that flags are not merely symbols, but artifacts that bear witness to the American experience.
This 26-star American flag, representing the period following the 1837 admission of Michigan as the 26th state, is available in Heritage’s June 22 Elwood Taylor Collection of American Flags Showcase Auction.
The Elwood Taylor auction isn’t the only Heritage event in which the Star-Spangled Banner flies high, however. With Independence Day approaching, several of Heritage’s upcoming auctions feature a fascinating array of flag-themed treasures that demonstrate the enduring power of Old Glory. Some are historic flags themselves, including Theodore Roosevelt’s safari flag from his famed African expedition and a flag carried to the moon aboard Apollo 11. Others depict the flag at moments of national significance, from Joe Rosenthal’s iconic Raising the Flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima photograph to Veryl Goodnight’s moving post-9/11 sculpture Mending the Flag. Still others reinterpret the Stars and Stripes through fashion, fine art, and design, proving that America’s most recognizable symbol continues to inspire collectors, artists, and dreamers alike.
A President’s Star-Spangled Banner
After leaving the White House in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, a yearlong safari that combined scientific discovery with the adventure he had long craved. Flying above his wilderness camps was this distinctive 45-star American flag, whose unusually large stars make it instantly recognizable in period photographs and early motion-picture footage documenting the journey. Roosevelt later signed the flag and presented it to Nairobi hotelier Major C.H. Ringer, a colorful local figure he affectionately nicknamed the “Ju-Ju Major.” Accompanied by extensive photographic and documentary evidence, the flag is a remarkable relic of Roosevelt’s post-presidential travels and a tangible connection to one of the most ambitious natural history expeditions of its era. Available in Heritage’s June 25 Liberty & Legacy: 250 Years of the American Spirit Americana & Political Signature® Auction.
To the Moon and Back
Mission-flown U.S. flags have long ranked among the most sought-after artifacts of the Space Age, but examples associated with Apollo 11 occupy a category of their own. This 6-by-4-inch silk American flag traveled to the moon aboard the Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia, during mankind’s first lunar landing mission in July 1969. The CAG Certified flag was preserved by mission commander Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon, and hails directly from The Armstrong Family Collection. Available in Heritage’s July 23-24 Space Exploration Signature® Auction.
The Stars and Stripes, But Make It Fashion
Judith Leiber’s eye-catching handbags have adorned the arms of nearly every first lady since Mamie Eisenhower, who carried a pearl- and rhinestone-studded stunner by Leiber to the 1953 inaugural ball. While Mamie’s purse is now part of the First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Leiber’s other designs can often be found in Heritage’s quarterly Luxury Accessories auctions. One timely example is this crystal-encrusted minaudière inspired by the American flag. Old Glory has never looked so glorious. Available in Heritage’s June 25 Summer Luxury Accessories Signature® Auction.
A New Take on Old Glory
Created for his 2010 Mayday exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York, Shepard Fairey’s Flag HPM uses his signature bold graphics, distressed textures, and propagandistic aesthetics to reimagine the American flag. Through Fairey’s use of repetition, pattern, and surface wear, the signed and dated screenprint evokes mass production and historical erosion, suggesting a symbol that is continually reshaped by cultural and political forces. Like much of the imagery produced by the influential street artist, Flag HPM is both iconic and critical, challenging viewers to reconsider not only what the flag represents, but how its meaning is constructed and contested. Available in Heritage’s June 25 Liberty & Legacy: 250 Years of the American Spirit Americana & Political Signature® Auction.
Rocking and Rolling With the Red, White, and Blue
For Family Dog’s first poster printed in color, the famed 1960s concert production company went with a familiar combo: the red, white, and blue of the American flag. Designed by Wes Wilson, the poster promoted an April 1966 Blues Project and Great Society show at the Avalon Ballroom, Family Dog’s first concert at the legendary San Francisco music venue. Known as FD-5 in the Family Dog numbered series, this first-printing poster is graded 9.9 Mint by Certified Guaranty Company. Available in Heritage’s July 9-10 Concert Posters Signature® Auction.
A Timeworn Flag Forever in Bronze
Colorado-based artist Veryl Goodnight was inspired to create Mending the Flag after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, when she witnessed Americans across the country come together in solidarity. The 2002 bronze sculpture, from an edition of 35, depicts a woman in a rocking chair holding the U.S. flag in her lap as she repairs it with needle and thread. Though the events of September 11 prompted Mending the Flag, Goodnight has explained that its theme was meant to be timeless. “The message of the sculpture can be applied to any time in history when America has faced a crisis,” she said. Available in Heritage’s June 18 Western Art Signature® Auction.
Six Marines, One Iconic Photograph
Few images in American history are as instantly recognizable as Joe Rosenthal’s Raising the Flag on Mount Suribachi. Captured by the Associated Press photographer on February 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima, the photo depicts six U.S. Marines raising an American flag atop the island’s highest point. The image won the Pulitzer Prize, helped drive the Seventh War Loan campaign, appeared on a U.S. postage stamp, and later inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Offered in a set of 50 vintage Rosenthal photographs in Heritage’s June 25 Liberty & Legacy: 250 Years of the American Spirit Americana & Political Signature® Auction.
