Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

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

Plan your visit

Renwick Gallery Stairwwell

Renwick Gallery

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.

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.

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

Artist

J. Fred Woell

born Evergreen Park, IL 1934-died Deer Isle, ME 2015

Media - woell_j_fred.jpg - 90569 — Courtesy J. Fred Woell

Also known as: James Frederick Woell
James Fred Woell
Fred Woell
Born: Evergreen Park, Illinois, United States
Died: Deer Isle, Maine, United States
Nationalities: American

Biography

J. Fred Woell was told by the art galleries of New York to “use gold or forget it.” The artist felt strongly that material should not determine a work’s value, and so began to create “anti-jewelry.” He explores themes of consumerism and violence in his humorous assemblages of discarded objects.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery

November 13, 2015–March 6, 2022

Renwick Gallery

Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world. The installation includes iconic favorites alongside new acquisitions.