Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.

Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.

Plan your visit

How Do I Research My Art?

Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.

How to Care for Your Collections

Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.

Recording a Changing Nation

This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.

Critical Thinking in Action

These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.

Event Venues and Space Rental

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Detail of brown ceramic jar with writing and the signature "Dave" inscribed around the top.

David “Dave” Drake: Potter and Poet

Craftsman David “Dave” Drake, enslaved for most of his life, produced uncommonly large ceramic jars in 19th-century South Carolina adorned by his poetic verses

Four people sit around a table playing a game with large cards. The cards have images of artworks on them.

Museum In My Pocket: An Off-the-Wall Art Game

SAAM educators highlight the collection with a new art-based card game

Director’s Circle

A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.

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SAAM Creatives

A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.

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Artist

Dawoud Bey

born New York City 1953

Also known as: David Edward Smikle
David Smikle
Born: New York, New York, United States
Active in: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nationalities: American

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.29.1 - SAAM-2019.29.1_1 - 138052

Dawoud Bey and William H. Johnson

May 12, 2021–August 5, 2021

Smithsonian American Art Museum

This focused installation features recently acquired photographs by Dawoud Bey in conversation with a painting by William H. Johnson that refer to the Underground Railroad.

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Dawoud Bey

Exhibitions