Visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Hours and Location
Temporarily closed
Free Admission
8th and F Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Planning Your Visit
SAAM is located at Eighth and F streets N.W., above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station and is accessible from Green, Yellow, and Red metro lines. At SAAM, ramps are located on both sides of the 8th and G Streets NW entrance.
There is limited on-street parking at meters; several paid parking garages are available in the neighborhood.
Exhibitions at SAAM
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Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture
March 20, 2020 — August 16, 2020Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)This exhibition reveals how the influential naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) shaped American perceptions of nature and the way American cultural identity became grounded in our relationship with the environment.
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Chiura Obata: American Modern
November 27, 2019 – May 25, 2020Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)Japanese-born artist Chiura Obata’s seemingly effortless synthesis of different art traditions defies the usual division between “East” and “West.” This exhibition presents the most comprehensive survey of his rich and varied body of work to date, from bold California landscape paintings to intimate drawings of his experiences of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. -
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists
October 11, 2019 – October 25, 2020Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists examines representations of buffalo and their integration into the lives of Native Americans on the Great Plains in the 1830s and in the twentieth century. -
Sculpture Down to Scale: Models for Public Art at Federal Buildings, 1974–1985
May 31, 2019 – March 28, 2021Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)Artists used preliminary models—or maquettes—to communicate their ideas. Varied in scale, format, and level of finish, the nine models in this exhibition offer windows into the creative process, with work by Jackie Ferrara, Sol LeWitt, Claes Oldenburg, and Beverly Pepper, among others.
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Galleries for Folk and Self-Taught Art
On View IndefinitelySmithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)SAAM’s collection of folk and self-taught art represents the powerful vision of America’s untrained and vernacular artists. Represented in the museum’s collection are pieces that draw on tradition—such as quilts—as well as artworks that reveal a more personal vision.
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Direct Carving
February 1, 2015 — July 12, 2020Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)Spontaneous! Truthful! Liberating! Direct carvers often used such words to describe their unconventional method of sculpting, in which an artist works directly on a piece of stone or wood as opposed to with a model, cast, or preconceived design.
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Experience America
On View IndefinitelySmithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)The 1930s was a heady time for artists in America. Through President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, the federal government paid them to paint and sculpt and urged them to look to the nation’s land and people for subjects.
Visiting with Young Children
For activities for all ages, see Family Activities. There are elevators and ramps throughout the museum to accommodate strollers. Changing stations are available in all of the museum’s restrooms.
The museum café has a limited children’s menu. The museum store has a variety of educational toys, children’s books, and supplies for young artists.
Accessibility
Barrier-free access and restrooms are available at both buildings. At SAAM, ramps are located on both sides of the 8th and G Streets NW entrance. Service animals are welcome. The Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium contains wheelchair spaces available during performances and lectures, and the auditorium is equipped with an induction hearing loop and T-coil infrared assistive listening system. If you are using MetroAccess Paratransit, please use 800 G Street NW as the address for our building. More information on accessibility at the museums
Telephone Numbers
Museum Information (recorded): (202) 633-7970
General Smithsonian Visitor Information: (202) 633-1000
