Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum's main building is at 1300 First Avenue in downtown Seattle, adjacent to Pike Place Market. SAM also operates two other sites: the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront. The main building was designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates and expanded by Allied Works Architecture.

The Olympic Sculpture Park is a free outdoor extension of the Seattle Art Museum, opened in 2007 on a 9-acre former industrial site along Elliott Bay. It features large-scale works by artists including Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero, and Richard Serra's 'Wake.' The park was designed by Weiss/Manfredi Architects and connects downtown Seattle to the waterfront.

The Seattle Art Museum was founded in 1933 by Richard E. Fuller, who served as its director for decades. The original Art Deco building in Volunteer Park (now the Seattle Asian Art Museum) opened that year. The current downtown location opened in 1991.

Yes, SAM holds significant collections of Native American art from the Pacific Northwest and across North America, including works by Haida, Tlingit, and Coast Salish artists. The museum also has notable Asian art holdings (especially Chinese and Japanese) and European and modern collections. The Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park reopened in 2020 after a major renovation.