A marble gallery shows a neon sculpture of the United States across from an abstract painting
Welcome to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery

Explore the sweep of four centuries of the the American imagination at the nation's flagship museum for American art and craft. Dive into inspiring artworks, special exhibitions, and the reimagined collection — American Voices and Visions: Modern and Contemporary Art, opening September 22. Experience our offerings both online and in person at our two locations, including national educational programs, innovative research, video interviews with artists, virtual artist studio tours, lectures, and more. Admission is always free.

Featured Exhibitions

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Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas
September 15, 2023June 2, 2024
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.
J. P. Ball, Unidentified sitter, 1858–60, daguerreotype
J. P. Ball and Robert S. Duncanson: An African American Artistic Collaboration
September 15, 2023 — March 2024
This focused exhibition pairs artwork by two Black artists working in the mid-nineteenth century—photographer J. P. Ball and painter Robert S. Duncanson.
 The Protagonist of an Endless Story by Angel Rodríguez-Díaz
Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea
July 28, 2023January 14, 2024
Ideas about the American West, both in popular culture and in commonly accepted historical narratives, are often based on a past that never was, and fail to take into account important events that actually occurred.
Tour Dates
  • 1
    Smithsonian American Art Museum
    Washington, DC
    July 28, 2023January 14, 2024
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Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies
June 23, 2023January 29, 2024
Musical Thinking explores the powerful resonances between recent video art and popular music.
Artist Lily Hope with an ornamental headdress
Sharing Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational 2023
May 26, 2023March 31, 2024
Artists Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan), Lily Hope (Tlingit), Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Iñupiat), Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy), and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) present a fresh and nuanced vision of Native American art.
Quilted artwork depicting eight African American soldiers
Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
Ongoing
SAAM’s branch location for contemporary craft, the Renwick Gallery, showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today. Currently on view are more than 100 works in a range of mediums from fiber and ceramics to glass, metal, wood, and mixed media.

Upcoming Featured Events

Featured Stories

A photograph of a person standing in front of an artwork. She is wearing earbuds and holding her phone up to the work.
SAAM teamed up with the digital firm Smartify to create a series of audio tours that deepen the visitor experience, both in our galleries and online.
SAAM
Photograph of two conservators working on a canvas.
The development of a new laser technology allowed for the successful conservation treatment and return of this important color field painting to public view
Anna Nielsen
An illustration of a group of 10 women artists.
09/14/2023
SAAM's comic series launches ten more stories of remarkable women artists
Emma Hitchcock
Detail of a portrait of Sandra Cisneros
Uncovering the passion and power behind Angel Rodríguez-Díaz’s portraiture
SAAM
A man stands drawing on a white board.
The second part of an interview with Tom di Maria, director emeritus of the Creative Growth Art Center
A photograph of a woman in front of artwork
SAAM's director on current exhibitions, acquisitions, and the newly reimagined and reinstalled modern and contemporary galleries

New Acquisitions

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Monumental
Date2019
woven linen with madder dye and tea stain
Not on view
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Don’t Tread on Me, God Damn, Let’s Go! — The Harlem…
Date2021
cottons, silk, wool, and velvet
On view
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Metabolizing the Border
Date2018-2020
Performance. Unique objects worn by artist/performer (glass, neoprene, rusted metal fragments of U.S./Mexico border fence, leather, cotton twine, flashlight) and photodocumentation of the performance (digital files)
Not on view
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Untitled (Verse Jar)
Date1860
stoneware with alkaline glaze
On view