Smithsonian American Art Museum: New World Art

Picture Norman Rockwell, Georgia O'Keeffe and David Hockney, and you've put together the beginnings of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. No other city and museum system would be more fitting for an American Art museum than the Smithsonian in Washington. Here, some of the greatest works of American art are displayed, across three centuries and several art periods. The building itself is a great American work of art, designed in a Greek Revival style in 1836 through 1868. The Smithsonian American Art Museum building is one of the oldest in Washington.

The collection began in 1829 by John Varden, an American who was looking to display his collection of European art. Since then, more than 7,000 artists are featured in the museum. Among them include Mary Cassatt, David Hockney, John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and Winslow Home.

Portraits and sculptures from New England and New Spain start off the collection, through landscapes painted during the Westward Movement of prairies and deserts, to works by African-American and Latino artists, to realism and abstract art of the 20th century. Temporary exhibits include moments in history, such as art drawn from the Japanese internment camps, projects from the New Deal, and a retrospective on childhood in the 19th century.

The American art museum’s collection is vast, but it points out 10 highlights not to be missed. Among them include Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting of Manhattan, Alberta Bierstadt’s painting “Among the Sierra Nevada”, Nam June Paik’s video installation entitled “Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii”, and Larry Fuente’s “Game Fish” made up of toys, trinkets, ping-pong balls, dice, beads, poker chips, plastic figurines and other small familiar items.

The Luce Conservation Center also allows the public to view how paintings are preserved and restored for display through five glass-window laboratories. The Luce Foundation for American Art is the first visible art storage and study center in Washington, displaying more than 3,300 objects in cases. Paintings, crafts, sculptures, folk art and crafts are displayed on shelves and drawers, plus interactive computer kiosks for the public. 

The museum also has the Kogod courtyard, a graceful glass-enclosed space where lunch and music concerts are held regularly. The museum underwent renovations from 2000-2006, adding porticos, a curving double staircase, colonnades, vaulted galleries, large windows, and long skylights. The museum also has guided tours and also self-guided tours, including audio tours and scavenger hunts.

American Art Museum Smithsonian museum Washington DC