For museum directors, organizing a unique art exhibition is quite a tedious process — but seven years is certainly a long time. In a process that dates back to 2005, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Timken Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego came together to share ideas, resources and artworks for this single unprecedented project.

These three San Diego art museums collaborated for the first time together to bring an exquisite exhibition, “Behold, America!: Art of United States from Three San Diego Museums.” With each museum internationally known for its permanent collections and exhibitions, these institutions created a three-museum venue for the exhibition to show their finest American works. The exhibition offers the public an opportunity to examine the sweeping changes in the United States over three centuries – from the colonial period to the present. A vast number of unique paintings, sculptures and photographs were brought together to demonstrate how national and individual identities have developed over the American art history. “Behold, America!” is grouped into three main sections — “Figures,” “Forms” and “Frontiers.” Each museum shows works from all three collections as it embraces one of the three themes.

“Figures,” opened at the San Diego Museum of Art, celebrates the human form by displaying distinctive collections of early American portraitures. Some of the most notable early artists in the history of American art, like Thomas Sully, are displayed harmoniously with contemporary artists like Cindy Sherman and John Currin.

At the Timken Museum of Art, the artworks of traditionalist artist Raphaelle Peale and prominent American modernists Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove and Stuart Davis examine “Forms.” The works range from the early 19th-century traditional still lifes to more avant-garde interpretations to reveal the pioneering steps that American artists took with their art.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego presents “Frontiers,” focusing on the vibrant natural beauty of the landscape of the United States. The artists include revered American painters, Albert Bierstadt and Asher Brown Durand along with mid-century modernists John Sloan and Marsden Hartley, as well as many contemporary artists.

In this dynamic art exhibition, the venues also show works of additional artists, which include Eastman Johnson, Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, Andy Warhol and Sol LeWitt.

“Behold, America!” e-tickets are available for $20 (a $2 savings). While individual tickets for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and the San Diego Museum of Art must be purchased for a small price, the Timkena Museum of Art always offers free admission. The exhibition will be held only until February 10th.