Spent four hours here and went on three different docent tours. They were so well informed. Each one took the group to see between 6 to 8 different pieces of art and gave a history of the work and why it was important.

It was great, looking forward to bringing my grandson to this museum. They will enjoy every bit of it.

I've been to DC many times over the decades and am getting around to some of the lesser visited attractions. The Smithsonian's collections are world-renowned, but the Museum of American Art & Portraiture was a little disappointing in the context of all that DC has...More

Many types of art here. Art has a very wide definition. Some of it is in no way art in my opinion but art is in the eye of the beholder. We spent 3 hours here and saw maybe 25%. Depends if you just want...More

Loved the diversity of artistic styles from folk to plain air. Plenty of benches or couches upon which to rest your weary feet. My favorite was the license plate art installation. Take a minute to stand back and consider this one from at least two...More

My favorite piece in SAAM is "Preamble." It was made by a man who wasn't even what most would consider an artist. It was made by an executive at Nissan. This was back in the '80s and he worked really hard to solve a puzzle...More

I spent way more time in this half of the building than the Portrait Gallery side. As I said in that review, if you are in town for set day activities (conference, for example), your ability to explore Smithsonians will be limited. This is one...More

I have been to many art museums around the world, particularly in Paris, Rome, and Madrid and I have to say I was really impressed by the quality of art and exhibits here. They were on par with the more well known European museums and...More

If you can only go to a few of the Smithsonian Museums this would be one I would select. We arrived in DC around dinner time and this was the only museum that was open late. We were not disappointed. Be sure to check out...More

The Museum also includes the Renwick Gallery [which focuses on Crafts etc], provides "electronic resources" (with more than 500,000 records) to schools & the Public... and has a very busy travelling Gallery. Over the years the Museum has vigorously expanded its collection... and now has...More