The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of works by African American artists in the world. Spanning three centuries of creative expression, these works evoke themes that are both universal and specific to the African American experience.

Visit SAAM on Smartify to hear from contemporary artists, curators, scholars, and changemakers as they share insights into these iconic works from SAAM’s collection. Reflect on William H. Johnson’s Breakdown with a Flat Tire with Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Edmonia Lewis’s Old Arrow Maker with SAAM curator Karen Lemmey, James Hampton’s The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly with artist Allison Saar, and more. Add another layer to your museum visit with these short, captivating perspectives or listen anytime from the comfort of your own home.

Explore SAAM’s Collection Through the Eyes of Local Artists

Discover SAAM’s reimagined modern and contemporary galleries through the lens of local artists on Instagram. In this new series, a variety of guest voices discuss artworks from SAAM’s collection that they find meaningful. In the first installment, watch photographer Farrah Skeiky discuss the work of DC artist Alma Thomas.

Did You Miss This Conversation?

Watch as gallerist, curator, and art advisor Myrtis Bedolla brings her popular "Tea with Myrtis" to SAAM in this bold and rich panel discussion. The series is inspired by a deep appreciation for the transformative power of art and a desire to create a space where meaningful conversations about contemporary art can thrive. A passionate leader and champion of promoting and collecting African American art, Bedolla engages in a lively conversation with art collectors, scholars, and arts professionals.

Participants include Mel Hardy, art collector and co-founder of DC-based organization Millennium Arts Salon; Leslie King-Hammond, art historian and founding director of the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art; Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of SAAM; and Lowery Stokes Sims, art historian.

Discover Drawn to Art

Take a fresh look at artists Emma Amos, Sonya Clark, Edmonia Lewis, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Loïs Mailou Jones, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Nellie Mae Rowe, Augusta Savage, Alma Thomas, and Mickalene Thomas. Inspired by graphic novels, these short takes on artists’ lives invite young people to identify with the struggles and triumphs of visionaries and rule breakers, to see themselves reflected, and to draw strength from that visibility.

Final Month!

J. P. Ball and Robert S. Duncanson: An African American Artistic Collaboration
Smithsonian American Art Museum
On view through March 24

Don’t miss your chance to view highlights from the collaboration between photographer James Presley (J. P.) Ball and landscape painter Robert Seldon Duncanson. Two free, Black artists working in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-nineteenth century, the exhibition features three paintings from SAAM’s collection by Duncanson alongside nine works by Ball. Eight of the photographic works are part of SAAM’s Early African American Photography Initiative and are on view in SAAM’s galleries for the first time.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is able to create and share experiences like these thanks to funding from generous supporters like you. Thank you for ensuring that American art is available to all. Donate to support SAAM.