Artwork Loans

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is launching a new loan moratorium from January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. Due to a major reinstallation project in our permanent collection galleries and robust exhibition programming through the nation’s Semiquincentennial, we cannot accommodate requests to borrow works from our collection—including our branch museum, the Renwick Gallery—during this period.

Loan commitments already agreed upon will be honored. We will consider requests for exhibitions opening in July 2027 and beyond, though it may take longer than usual for us to respond at this time. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Loans from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery collections will be considered for non-profit museums, institutions, and galleries for temporary exhibitions and longer-term installations of educational significance.

Please submit a formal request letter to the attention of the Director at the earliest opportunity and email a copy to Anne Hyland, Curatorial Associate for Exhibitions and Loans (HylandAB@si.edu).

Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum MRC 970, P.O. Box 37012 Washington DC, 20013-7012

Please include the following information in the request:

• Exhibition title, dates, and venue(s)
• Exhibition synopsis
• Tombstone information for the requested object(s), with accession number
• Relevance of requested object(s) to the exhibition
• Contact information for the borrower’s curator and registrar

SAAM requires least one-year advanced notice for loan requests within the U.S. International loan requests require at least 15 months advanced notice. Rush requests received less than 6 months from the request date to the exhibition opening date shall not be considered. To begin the internal review process, we require:

1. Current facility reports
2. Climate data
3. Relevant gallery floor plans

Please submit these documents with the formal letter and email a copy to Jennifer Schneider, Assistant Registrar for Outgoing Loans (SchneiderJenn@si.edu). To expedite our process, we must receive facility reports, climate data, and gallery floorplans within 90 days of the initial request. For rush requests, the facility reports, climate data, and gallery floorplans must be received within 30 days of the initial request. If the necessary documents are not received within the timeframes stated above, your loan request is subject to decline.

A maximum of three objects may be requested for each separate exhibition or installation. If more objects are requested, the museum will review only the first three listed. No more than three objects can be lent to any single exhibition or installation.

Upon receipt of the request letter, curatorial staff will review the availability of the objects requested and an acknowledgment letter will be mailed to the requestor. Registration and Conservation staff will then review environmental data and conservation needs to determine the viability of the loan request. Objects with extensive conservation concerns may be declined to ensure the safety of our collection objects.

Please note the internal review process will take several months to complete.

Borrowing institutions will be charged a loan processing fee of $250 per object. The loan processing fee will be increased to $500 per object for any loans requested less than 12 months (domestic) or 15 months (international) prior to the opening date of the exhibition. Borrowing institutions are also responsible for all costs of the loan, including but not limited to packing, fine arts shipping and insurance, and courier expenses when applicable.

Any necessary work for conservation, framing, and mount-making will be billed at an hourly rate of $100. Estimates of object preparation expenses will be provided following the loan review, and borrowers must countersign the approval letter within three weeks of receipt to confirm that they accept the payment obligation before object preparation begins.