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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.

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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.

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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

Artist Tanya Aguiñiga wearing a suit made of glass elements while standing next to the U.S./Mexico border wall

Exploring Border Stories with Artist Tanya Aguiñiga

Curator Mary Savig details an artist’s journey to create the powerful performance work Metabolizing the Border that explores the physical and psychological experiences migrants face while crossing the borderlands.

Director’s Circle

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The Eclipse

Media - 1978.40.3 - SAAM-1978.40.3_2 - 137737

Copied Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 62 in. × 49 ³⁄₄ in. (157.5 × 126.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1978.40.3

Artwork Details

Title: The Eclipse
Artist: Alma Thomas
Date: 1970
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
/
4th Floor
/
37A
Dimensions: 62 in. × 49 ³⁄₄ in. (157.5 × 126.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the artist
Mediums: acrylic
Mediums Description: acrylic on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Keywords: Abstract
Object Number: 1978.40.3
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.40.3

Exhibitions

Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas

September 15, 2023–June 2, 2024

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The exhibition Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas provides an intimate view of Alma Thomas’ evolving artistic practices during her most prolific period from 1959 to her death in 1978.

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The Eclipse

Artwork Details

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