This is a fantastic art museum, and I’m confused why there are three dollar ($$$) signs next to this museum because admission is free and you don’t need any sort of ticket. There are a ton of different exhibits for all ages and people. The museum is well decorated, staffed, and clean. I didn’t get the opportunity to see the third floor because this place is HUGE, so I’ll be back. I would 100% recommend visiting this museum!

Great art museum in the former Old Patent Office Building, designed by architect Robert Mills. Wonderful paintings by the likes of Edward Hopper, Ralston Crawford, William H. Johnson, Stuart Davis, Thomas Hart Benton, and many others.

October 2021 • Beautiful museum! Free like all Smithsonian's and packed full of wonderful art. Could easily spend half a day here to see everything, though we only had about 90 minutes to spare. Beautiful atrium/courtyard area in the center...was a great place to take a few minutes rest during a busy day of sightseeing. I would allow at least 2-3 hours to see everything here, though again, you could easily spend more!

This museum was beautiful. I didn’t anticipate it being so big. I recommend planning for at least 3 hours. Art was breath taking.

This is a brilliant museum. There are many portraits, but there is much more. There is also a beautiful atrium with trees and flowing water in the center of the museum. Definitely worth the visit if you like classic art.

American Art Museum can stand on its own even if it wasn't in the same Greek Revival building as the National Portrait Gallery. Located in Chinatown, it's in the old patent building and free for all to enter. Here are the highlights: 1) Art: Gallery after gallery showcase paintings and sculptures through the ages. More popular pieces come wit benches nearby for visitors to soak it in. 2) Courtyard: The Kogod Courtyard is stunning and connects the two museums. There's wifi, tables and gardens. 3) Store: It's large and has a lot of gems, perfect for gifts. 4) Fun: If you want to explore the museum through a scavenger hunt, ask the front desk for a map!

This is a must visit museum for any art enthusiast. The collection is vast and the galleries absolutely stunning! 🤩 They house within them some of the favourite art pieces and portraits of our time. My favourites were the Obama portraits. A must see location within the museum is their courtyard in the center with the cafe nearby. A beautiful location to chill and enjoy the beautiful roof and stone walls. Would definitely recommend to anyone in DC. Time to see the museum would be around 3-4 hours.

Visited for a day trip, on a Friday, in late December, with adult family, and 3 teens. Everyone had a nice experience. Big, beautiful museum and a lot of walking. No crowds on the day that we were there. Easy, safe parking located at a garage across the street, from main entrance that only cost us $22. We all felt safe and enjoyed our visit. Looking forward to going again one day in the Spring.

It was an amazing experience visiting the museum. We explored three floors of exhibits, paintings, sculptures, and more. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Some of the elevators were too small for me and my power wheelchair, but the main ones were large enough.

The amount of art and floors are just stunning! Take as much time as possible! I’ve gone here on five different trips and still haven’t seen it all! Beautiful!

My four and seven year old even enjoyed this museum! I would say the portraits were not everyone’s favorite, but there were plenty of other exhibits that peaked their interest. The courtyard is beautiful and you can see why so many people hang around there

This museum is not on the Capital Mall like the other Smithsonian museums. It's in Chinatown, near the Chinatown metro stop Parking is difficult to find. The National Portrait Gallery is in the same physical building. Both museums are free and well worth a visit. I particularly liked the Watergate exhibit that showed many Time magazine covers related to Watergate. The top floor was full of all kinds of art work shown next to each other in large see-through boxes. It was called the Luce Center.

Very nice art museum 😎😎😎 This is a must see if you're in Washington DC. You'll need about 3-4 hours to see everything without rushing through the artwork and masterpieces 🎨 🖼 Very peaceful and quiet atmosphere. The location is close to Capitol Hill and the White House. There's so much to see and I like that everything is very well organized. You have about 4 different floors to cover and admission is free 😎

This shares the same space as the National Portrait Gallery. And together they make for one great place to visit and spend time with. It's free which is great. I would go on a Sunday and go super early and park on the street since parking is free in DC on Sundays. It can get pretty busy so just keep that in mind. But it is cant miss kind of place.

You can get lost in this place and spend an entire day in the midst of beautiful artwork, including paintings and sculptures. The museum is also attached to the National Portrait Gallery, and you can walk seamlessly between them. Nearly all of the art can be walked right up to and viewed up close and there is plenty of seating everywhere for sitting and appreciating the artwork around you. Probably not the best for small children, but highly recommended for anyone who appreciates fine art.

Fascinating museum, had countless pieces of art across all different topics. Huge building with three floors, prepare for a lot, and I mean a LOT of walking. Bring comfortable shoes. They had pieces from all the way back to the 1700s, some even a bit older. Seeing the perspectives of various groups during their time in history was a really great learning experience. Very glad we went. They had this cool sky-ceiling on the second floor that was a really nice and relaxing spot to rest. Overall amazing place, learned quite a bit and took a lot of pictures (which is allowed). Just remember to wear good walking shoes!

Open until 7pm on weekdays. Beautiful courtyard between the two museums with live foliage, impressive architecture, and a coffee shop.

The place were amazing. I could learn American history by seeing portraits. I really enjoy American Impressionism. I really love. Enter is free so I saw few student was writing dessin there. People love staying place. Amazing.

Excellent museum. Came for the "I dream a world" exhibit. Beautiful photography. Check it out before it leaves. We also came for the lunar New Year celebration in the courtyard. Lots of fun watching the dancers and making crafts.

Really cool contemporary art. Great if you’re looking for something modern. It was also awesome to see a Chuck Close painting and Kehinde Wiley painting in their presidential portrait gallery on the other side of the building

Lots of really neat art spanning three stories. It was extremely crowded, though, and the security guards kept following me and the person I was with around. Every room had 1 security guard to prevent people from stealing or touching artwork and every single room they were always about three feet behind us, following us till the next guard took over. No idea why, we were standing a few feet from each piece and we're well mannered (especially when compared to some of the other people we saw).

Can’t say enough things about this wonderful museum! Every American should visit it at least once. A trip to DC for this museum alone is completely worth it. Thankfully, I’ll get a chance to visit it often! The gift shop that’s open (it’s summer 2021) has just the right amount of amazing gift ideas for oneself as well as for others.

Stunning. The indoor courtyard with natural light is heavenly. Beautiful place with friendly workers. Only compliant is the printed map is a bit confusing, floors seem to be rotated and not line up from 1st to 2nd floor.

Nice museum, free entrance 11:30-7pm on most days.

I'm glad that I made time to see this wonderful gallery in the evening after the other museums had closed. Albert Bierstadt's "Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains" was the number one painting in my opinion, it just has to be seen (it's posted in this review). The electronic superhighway is an incredible example of intricate modern art, with the neon tubing delineating the state shapes and positions and the TV screens filling each state; it's something to marvel at for several minutes. On the portrait gallery side, I'd have to say my favourite was the Presidents Hall.

It is one of the best museums in the mall. I could spend hours in here. I talked with an art student who helped me understand what I was looking at. Art is amazing. Please visit this place. You won’t regret it.

Absolutely amazing! Went with a teen and he enjoyed the art as much as we did. His favourite was the section about the American presidents and the Champions. We spent several hours at the museum and still hadn’t seen all the rooms/art. There is a kids education center for the younger kids on the first level. They can make art/do crafts and play with blocks. Highly recommended!

I went early primarily to visit the Future of Orchids exhibit which was smaller than I expected but was colorful and beautifully displayed. I enjoyed the rest of the museum and a self tour can easily fill a 3-4 hour time slot. The American Art Museum is connected to the Portrait Museum which houses portraits and paintings of historic figures along with pop culture icons. I went solo on a Sunday Morning around 11:30am. I found free parking immediately and near the building. Once inside the museum was bustling but not too busy with plenty of space to admire the art and take pics without crowding. The museum is split into two wings and each side has 3 levels. Restrooms, elevators and stairs are throughout the museum and are clearly marked and easily accessible. There are also comfortable cushioned seating all around the museum if you need to sit and rest (or admire). I enjoyed the split and themed rooms which allowed me to pick and choose which displays I wanted to see. There are so much different varieties of art for everyone to enjoy no matter your style. I definitely would go again. It's a great recommendation for a day out or early evening date (closes at 7pm).

I really enjoyed this museum, it had such an awesome variety of art and representation. from traditional American art to modern. It had artists from the black, Latino and LGBTQ communities. It's really worth visiting multiple times or take a few hours to really appreciate each gallery on every floor. I love that it was free! I found the president portrait gallery way more fun and interesting than I thought I would. I would love to come back again.

I loved this museum, so much to see America art is so rich and well detailed I had and awesome time here the garden was so well taking care of amazing place. Some rooms were under construction but it didn't make our visit unpleasant you could see this museum in and afternoon.

Good place to visit to see a broad collection of art from colonial to contemporary times. If you are driving to this museum, I would recommend parking at the City Center parking garage as this garage opens 24 hours

You’ll need several hours to truly enjoy this place. Lots to see and learn. Clean, covid protocols in place, people were nice and yes, it’s free. Can’t get any better!

Realistically, if you're going to be in Washington D.C. it is an absolute to visit the Smithsonian Museums, particularly the American Art Museum. With the museum’s educational enrichment, it is an experience for the whole family to engage with history and ignite imaginations of all ages. Though the collections vary from American artists to World Class Masters, the artwork captures the vast cultural influences from around the world. This obviously is the collections of the finest order America has accumulated. From Von Gogh, to Monet to a vast arrange of time periods and stylizations to explore. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is well worth your time.

Fantastic museum that wasn’t overly busy for a Saturday. The folk art exhibit on the first floor is incredible. One of my favorite exhibits I’ve seen. 5/5.

We learn a lot from these masters, what and how they did was not in a hurry or in some App. The process of creating these oil painting. How you see they did not rush through the stages. This is strong reminder of what we are in our creativity. They now include more Diversity and the wing dedicated to black Americans as well as other minorities. We all know a majority of our history was drawn by older white men but they are truly trying to make this museum inclusive and diverse.

Crossposted with National Portrait Gallery: Highly recommend! Visited on a Monday morning just after they opened, 11:30–1:30+. Very friendly staff, informative and helpful information desk assistant, and clean, bright, and beautiful inside. Exceptional and thought-provoking exhibits throughout. Definitely needed more time to see everything. They have a beautiful atrium with café between the two halves of the building, which but didn’t have time to visit it. Third floor was beautifully renovated and recently re-opened! Easy to get to by metro using the nearby Gallery Place stop.

I regret visiting it. The museum is a typical example of abusing tax money. Some items have little to do with art; they look more like garbage. I am attaching two so you can have an idea.

Folk and outside exhibit was great. Their contemporary and modern stuff has apparently been closed for half a year? If you want to see good art go to the African American history and culture museum instead. Theyve got better and more impactful art than a bunch of portraits of old white dudes.

Awesome place, lots to see. Really enjoyed looking the art and history. So much to see and learn. Beautiful!

Great place to spend a rainy day! A lot to see & read about. The different exhibits were enlightening & pieces were very artful! Didn’t know you had to get a ticket to come so plan to do so if you want to visit! But guy was very friendly & let us in anyway. Worth a trip!

Awesome place. Beautiful, spacious and totally worth seeing

It is GREAT. Be prepared to spend at least 4 hours so you can take a look at all sections. It is really big and has a lot of galleries.

Love visiting here to study and this time I got to see the Frederick Douglass exhibit! Wonderful, scenic and calm location.

You get to see the presidential portraits which was from my lens one of the best things, some art dedicated justice movements, along with some of FDRs art sponsored program. I found the visit to be extremely informational and we spent about an hour in here with kids.

Great place to enjoy some quality time if you're an Art lover. There's a nice Cafe and relaxing area inside as well.

There was obviously some great art here, but I was fascinated with the building as well. It’s beautiful and there is history with President Lincoln, his second inaugural ball was held here.

This place was amazing. I really enjoyed myself. FYI I don’t bring backpacks. Or a big purses but they do have a locker room.

It was so disappointing because half of the Museum was closed for renovations otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars. To miss the Impressionist and Gilded Age wings due to the renovations made me sad. However, there are 2 Georgia O'Keefe paintings on display (one on the 3rd floor and one on the lower level), a Grandma Moses, a Warhol, some Pollocks, a Rockwell (3rd floor) and an Andrew Wyeth. I did really enjoy the art which was on display, and hopefully on my next DC vacation I'll be able to see the rest of the Museum including the Hockney next time!

An amazing visit! You can swing in and just check out the Presidents or you can make it a longer visit and view all of the other exhibits available. I included photos of our favorites, but a definite must see in DC!

Beautiful. A lot to see, little confusing, did not flow well for route, many areas created a jam up of people. Map was provided, route not suggested, lots of staff, but many did not convey a feeling of being approachable - more like guards. Loved the landscape art and statues. Glad we were able to spend time there, will be back when not as crowded. They encourage photos, which is fantastic. Love that there is NO FEE!

Fantastic exhibits and presented splendidly. Give yourself a good bit of time to see it all. There's 3 floors and plenty to take in. The president portraits hit different.

“The museum is home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world" Impressive, awesome collection of art. Love the America’s Presidents, the Watergate exhibit, the outwin 2022 at the National Portrait Gallery. Check out the Luce Foundation Center for American Art on the 3rd and 4th floor. So many exhibits, galleries, incredible artworks to see, you can easily spend 2 hours or more in this museum. The best part Admission is free.

Had a really great time here. The open air courtyard seemed like a great place to chill after exploring one side of the museum. It was very expansive so we couldn’t see it all at one time. The portraits of US presidents is definitely a must see though! That was my favorite part.