The Seattle Art Museum, also popularly known as the SAM, is a brilliant and an impressive art museum, located at the downtown area of Seattle in Washington, USA. This museum was opened on June 23, 1933. It was first established in an Art Moderne building that was engineered by Carl F. Gould. The building, where the present Seattle Art Museum is located, was gifted by Richard E. Fuller and his mother.
The Seattle Art Museum in Seattle houses a wide range of diverse collection of brilliant pieces of art and paintings. On December 1991, the present collection of the museum moved to its present location. Previously known as the Seattle Asian Art Museum, this building in itself is a great work of art.
While entering the Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, you can see a Hammering Man right at the front of the museum. This sculpture dates back to 1994. It is a brilliant piece of architecture that is visited by travelers from all over the globe.
The Art Ladder or the main staircase of the building was attached to the building and it became a free public space. The displays of the museum are showcased on the first floor of a 16-storeyed building. This building was designed by the Portland, Oregon architect Brad Cloepfil. The next eight floors are also used by this museum on rent. It has future plans to expand this museum to larger floors.
Some of the brilliant collections that are housed in this Seattle Art Museum are the following:
- The Gates of Paradise
- Roman Art from the Louvre
- Discovering Buddhist Art-Seeking the Sublime
- Pattern Richness in Modern Japanese Textiles
- Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective
- Art in the Park
The Seattle Art Museum also runs and manages a beautiful Olympic Sculpture Park situated on the Seattle waterfront. This beautiful park opened on January 20, 2007. Being one of the major art museums, admission to this museum is absolutely free on the first Thursday of every month.
At the Seattle Art Museum, you can find the SAM shop and SAM Taste restaurant. You can buy a range of items and souvenirs from the shop for your loved ones. Make your museum tours a worthwhile experience by visiting the Seattle Art Museum.
Related: Seattle Travel Information
Image Credit : Rootology