The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as "SAM") is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington USA. Admission is free on the first Thursday of each month.
The Seattle Art Museum opened on June 23, 1933 in an Art Deco building in Volunteer Park, given to the city by Richard E. Fuller, president of the Art Institute of Seattle, and his mother, Margaret MacTavish Fuller. The museum's main collection moved to its present location in December 1991, at which time the old building was renamed the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Directly in front of the museum is Hammering Man, a 1994 sculpture that also appears in other cities around the globe.
Beginning in 2006, the Seattle Art Museum will be expanding its 1991 location to the new WaMu tower in a joint effort with Washington Mutual who owns it. To do this, the museum's downtown location will close January 5, 2006. The new site will offer four new floors with 70 percent more gallery space, an expanded museum store, and a new restaurant. It is expected to open in spring 2007.
Also being constructed is the new Olympic Sculpture Park on the Seattle waterfront. This new venture is expected to open in spring 2006.
External links[]
- Seattle Art Museum official website