Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans with artworks from the colonial period to today. The museum features several innovative public spaces. Its Luce Foundation Center for American Art allows visitors to browse more than 3,300 works from the collection. It adjoins the Lunder Conservation Center, the first art conservation facility to allow the public permanent behind-the-scenes views of preservation work.
The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, enclosed by a glass canopy designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Foster + Partners, features a café, and provides a venue for performances and special events. Free Wi-Fi is available in the courtyard and the Luce Foundation Center.
The museum's main building, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the oldest public buildings constructed in early Washington. Begun in 1836 and completed in 1868, it is considered one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. The building is connected with a number of historical figures, including Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, and President Abraham Lincoln, who held his second inaugural ball here in 1865.
The museum's branch for craft and decorative arts, the Renwick Gallery, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House.
Photo by Timothy Hursley
