Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington D.C. · United States · Founded 1829
A museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.
1 million
Annual Visitors
43,000+ works
Collection
2 hours
Recommended Visit
Originally Patent Office Building (1836–1867) · Victor Lundy (renovation)
Architect
About Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's largest and most inclusive collections of art, from the colonial period to the present, made in the United States.
The museum has more than 7,000 artists represented in the collection. Most exhibitions take place in the museum's main building, the old Patent Office Building.
The museum provides electronic resources to schools and the public through its national education program. It maintains seven online research databases with more than 500,000 records.
The Kogod Courtyard, with its elegant glass canopy, connects the SAAM with the National Portrait Gallery, creating one of Washington's most beloved indoor public spaces.
Masterworks & Must-See Highlights
The works that define Smithsonian American Art Museum — and why they matter.
Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway
Nam June Paik · 1995
Lincoln Gallery
A 15-metre-wide wall of 336 TV monitors showing video clips of all 50 US states. One of the largest and most celebrated works of video art, prophetically depicting the internet age before most people had access to it.
Niagara
Frederic Edwin Church · 1857
Lincoln Gallery
Church's panoramic canvas of Niagara Falls — at the time the most celebrated American painting. The horizontal format creates an almost photographic immersive effect, pulling viewers into the mist and roar of the falls.
Collections & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
A small ask before you go
You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.
Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.