Galleries for 18th to Early 20th Century Art
Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Helen Huntington Hull, granddaughter of William Brown Dinsmore, who acquired the painting in 1873 for "The Locusts," the family estate in Dutchess County, New York, 1977.107.1
The galleries for 18th to early 20th century art are closed temporarily as part of a multiyear initiative to update SAAM’s permanent collection galleries. They are expected to reopen in Fall 2026.
Description
The Smithsonian American Art Museum's galleries for 18th to early 20th century art display selections from the permanent collection that offer insights into the rich artistic and cultural history of the United States.
Artworks in these galleries present key aspects of American visual culture, from the founding of the United States and the early Republic through Impressionism and the Gilded Age, the New Deal and early abstraction. Featured artists include Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, George Catlin, Edmonia Lewis, Hiram Powers, Mary Cassatt, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, William H. Johnson, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Lois Mailou Jones, Edward Hopper, and Andrew Wyeth.
Note: These galleries on the museum’s second floor closed temporarily to the public beginning September 22, 2025. The galleries are expected to reopen in Fall 2026.
This project is part of a multiyear initiative to update SAAM’s collection galleries that began in 2020 with the reimagined modern and contemporary art galleries, now on view. The work includes enhancements to public spaces, repairs, and a refreshed presentation.