Smithsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Lincoln Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum with Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii by Nam June Paik in the background
Map
Interactive fullscreen map
Established1829[1]
Location8th and F Streets NW, Washington, D.C.[2]
Coordinates38°53′52″N 77°1′24″W / 38.89778°N 77.02333°W / 38.89778; -77.02333
TypeArt museum
Visitors1.1 million (2022) [3]
DirectorStephanie Stebich[4][5][6][7]
Public transit access Gallery Place-Chinatown
Websiteamericanart.si.edu

The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) 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. More than 7,000 artists are represented in the museum's collection. Most exhibitions are held in the museum's main building, the Old Patent Office Building (shared with the National Portrait Gallery), while craft-focused exhibitions are shown in the Renwick Gallery.

Exterior of a large building made of grey stone. Columns mark the entrance and a wide set of stairs lead up to the columns. Three cars are parked in front of the building. The sun peeks through the cloudy sky above. Several people are walking toward the entrance.
Exterior of the building shared by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery

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, including the Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture that document more than 400,000 artworks in public and private collections worldwide. Since 1951, the museum has maintained a traveling exhibition program; as of 2013, more than 2.5 million visitors have seen the exhibitions.

  1. ^ "Museum History". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  2. ^ Calos, Katherine. "Heads will turn". Times-Dispatch.
  3. ^ Smithsonian Institution News Desk, consulted July 22, 2023
  4. ^ Durón, Maximilíano (January 24, 2017). "Smithsonian American Art Museum Names Stephanie Stebich Director". ARTnews. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  5. ^ McGlone, Peggy (January 24, 2017). "Smithsonian American Art appoints Tacoma Art Museum director". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  6. ^ "Smithsonian American Art Museum Staff Bios". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NPR 13 April 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).