SAAM Stories: From the Collection

SAAM is home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world, capturing the aspirations, character and imagination of the American people. Explore highlights from the eighteenth century to today.

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  Contemporary Craft in Focus: Harlem Hellfighters

  Learn more about artist Bisa Butler's vivid portraits of African American heroes from World War I

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  Contemporary Craft

  From the Collection

  New Acquisitions

  • Read more about Contemporary Craft in Focus: Harlem Hellfighters
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  Why I Am Not a Painter: on Michael Goldberg's Sardines

  What happens when poet Frank O'Hara walks into Mike Goldberg's studio while he's working on a painting?

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  From the Collection

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  Depicting Love in Diane Arbus’s A woman with her baby monkey, 1971

  An unexpected email reveals more about the subject of one of Diane Arbus’s celebrated portraits

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  From the Collection

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  Exploring the American Psyche with Carrie Mae Weems

  On the multimedia installation, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me, recently acquired by SAAM

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  From the Collection

  New Acquisitions

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  Through the Lens of Photographer Linda Rich

  A look into the daily lives of women living in one close-knit Baltimore neighborhood

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  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

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  Presenting Ten More Visionaries and Rule Breakers in SAAM's Collection

  The Drawn to Art comic series continues to share the lives of women artists you should know

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  From the Collection

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  Contemporary Craft in Focus: This Present Moment

  Discover the inspiration and call to action behind this monumental neon artwork

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  Contemporary Craft

  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

  New Acquisitions

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  Edmonia Lewis and Her Stamp on American Art

  Explore the life and work of this groundbreaking American sculptor

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  From the Collection

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  Elinor Cahn: Photographer and Poet of East Baltimore in the 1970s

  Exploring the spirit of one American neighborhood in a time of change

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  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

  • Read more about Elinor Cahn: Photographer and Poet of East Baltimore in the 1970s
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  Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: The Bounty of the Calendario de Comida

  Exploring tradition, place, and social justice through food

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  Chicano Graphics

  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

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  Ringing in the New Year with Venetian Glass Goblets: “Auld Lang Syne” Edition

  Take a closer look at four fabulous glasses to inspire a virtual celebratory toast to 2022

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  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

  • Read more about Ringing in the New Year with Venetian Glass Goblets: "Auld Lang Syne" Edition
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  Growing a Mindful Collection in 2021

  Ten artworks we are excited to add to SAAM’s collection

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  From the Collection

  New Acquisitions

  • Read more about Growing a Mindful Collection in 2021
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  Taking a Closer Look at James Hampton’s The Throne of the Third Heaven

  Our video series American Art Moments takes a closer look at a powerful yet enigmatic installation in SAAM’s collection by a self-taught artist

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  From the Collection

  • Read more about Taking a Closer Look at James Hampton’s The Throne of the Third Heaven
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  The Mystery Around a Byzantine-style Necklace

  Uncovering the secrets of one of SAAM’s treasures

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  Exhibitions

  From the Collection

  Conservation

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  Black Friday Art Browsing

  Not to be shady, but sometimes the cure for Black Friday stress is art

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  From the Collection

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  Kay WalkingStick and the Indigenous Presence in American Landscape Painting

  A look at three paintings that represent three different decades of the artist’s vibrant career

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  From the Collection

  New Acquisitions

  • Read more about Kay WalkingStick and the Indigenous Presence in American Landscape Painting