SAAM is a place to picture yourself in American art. As the global leader and trusted source on American art and craft, we engage our community, the nation, and the world by exploring tradition and innovation while showcasing the bold and unexpected. We celebrate a wide range of artistic expressions, reminding us that we are all makers.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum, the nation’s first collection of American art, is an unparalleled record of the American experience.The collection captures the aspirations, character, and imagination of the American people throughout three centuries. The museum is the home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. Its artworks reveal key aspects of America’s rich artistic and cultural history from the colonial period to today.

The museum has been a leader in identifying and collecting significant aspects of American visual culture, including photography, modern folk and self-taught art, African American art, Latino art, and video games. The museum has the largest collection of New Deal art and exceptional collections of contemporary craft, American impressionist paintings and masterpieces from the Gilded Age. In recent years, the museum has focused on strengthening its contemporary art collection, and in particular media arts, through acquisitions, awards, curatorial appointments, endowments, and by commissioning new artworks.