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.

Event Venues and Space Rental

Museum Store Online

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

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.

Off the Street, On the Beach

Media - 2003.27.1 - SAAM-2003.27.1_1 - 62608

Copied Robert Ebendorf, Off the Street, On the Beach, 1992, mixed media of found objects, mostly plastic, 1 ¹⁄₂ x 14 ¹⁄₂ in. (3.8 x 36.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kenneth R. Trapp in honor of Robert Ebendorf, 2003.27.1

Artwork Details

Title: Off the Street, On the Beach
Artist: Robert Ebendorf
Date: 1992
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 1 ¹⁄₂ x 14 ¹⁄₂ in. (3.8 x 36.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Kenneth R. Trapp in honor of Robert Ebendorf
Mediums Description: mixed media of found objects, mostly plastic
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Keywords: Object — toy
Object — other — flatware
Object Number: 2003.27.1
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2003.27.1

Artwork Description

Robert Ebendorf made Off the Street, On the Beach using materials that he collected while walking with his daughter around the beach and on the way to school. He then assembled these found pieces of glass, wire, spoons, and plastic into a playful necklace.