The Smithsonian American Art Museum, the nation's first collection of American art, captures the aspirations, character and imagination of the American people from the Colonial period to today. The museum is a center for the study, enjoyment and preservation of the country's rich artistic and cultural heritage.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are housed in a 19th-century National Historic Landmark building in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood. The building also houses two innovative public spaces—the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, where visitors can browse works in a visible art storage facility, and the Lunder Conservation Center.

Luce Foundation Center for American Art

This public space is imaginatively designed to serve as a study center and a visible art storage facility. More than 3,300 artworks from the museum's collections—including paintings, sculptures, craft and folk art objects—are on display in a three-story, skylit space. Scavenger hunts, audio tours, sketching workshops and the "Art + Coffee" tour, plus free Wi-Fi, are available in the Luce Center.

For Families

At the third-floor information desk, pick up the Luce Foundation Center's scavenger hunts to discover artworks, or ask staff about multimedia scavenger hunts. At the information desks on the main floor, ask about free programs such as Art à la Cart, artist demonstrations, performances and a monthly Family Day.

First Floor

Galleries on the first floor display artworks that embrace the democratic spirit, including photography and folk art.

American Experience (Permanent). Paintings by Edward Hopper entice visitors to the introductory galleries near the lobby. These galleries, located near the F Street lobby, are filled with 19th- and 20th-century landscapes and more than 50 images selected from photographer Lee Friedlander's series The American Monument (1963-2001).

Folk Art (Permanent). In the adjoining galleries is James Hampton's The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, a visionary and intensely religious work made from salvaged furniture and other found items.

Second Floor

American Art Through 1940 (Permanent). These galleries link artworks, such as Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's model for the Statue of Liberty and John Singer Sargent's Gilded Age portraits, to American historical periods, dating from the founding of the Colonies to the New Deal era. See the monumental paintings of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon by Thomas Moran (1837-1926) that inspired Congress to create the country's first national park at Yellowstone in 1872.

Third Floor

Modern and contemporary artworks are located on the top floor.

Lincoln Gallery See Jenny Holzer's stunning column of light and text titled For SAAM, David Hockney's Snails Space With Vari-Lites, "Painting as Performance" and Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii.

Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image (Permanent). This gallery features a collection of artworks that examines the history of video art as well as works by a new generation of artists on the cutting edge of media art practices.

Special Exhibitions

The Great American Hall of Wonders (July 15, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012) third floor. This exhibition investigates the transformative power of American inventiveness and features paintings and drawings by such preeminent artists as John James Audubon, Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer.

To Make a World: George Ault and 1940s America (March 11, 2011-Sept. 5, 2011) first floor. Artist George Ault (1891-1948) painted some of the most original works of art in America during the 1940s. His precise yet eerie pictures reflect a real world that Ault felt was in crisis.

Multiplicity (Nov. 11, 2011-March 11, 2012) first floor. See how artists employ repetition, pairing and variations on a theme as artistic strategy in works by John Baldessari, Chuck Close Sol LeWitt, Martin Puryear, Susan Rothenburg, Kiki Smith, Kara Walker and Vija Celmins.

Inventing a Better Mousetrap: Patent Models from the Rothschild Collection (Nov. 11, 2011-Nov. 3, 2013) second floor. View 35 models illustrating the wide variety of 19th-century inventions submitted for patents by inventors from across the United States.

Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard

The light-filled courtyard with its wavy glass canopy is a downtown oasis that features in­terior landscaping, a cafe and free Wi-Fi access.

Lunder Conservation Center

The two museums share the conservation center, located on the third- and fourth-floor mezzanines. The center offers a unique, behind-the-scenes view, through floor-to-ceiling glass walls, of American Art and Portrait Gallery conservators examining, treating and preserving paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and other works of art. Ask at the information desks about weekly behind-the-scenes tours and other special programs.

Fun for students: goSmithsonian.com/SIConnections

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