Smithsonian American Art Museum

About

This historic building, constructed in the mid-eighteenth century, was originally used as a hall of congress, but over time this space became a sacred place that holds art within it. Walking between walls and ceilings where the spirit of painters still flows, one faces the works with a gaze like reading a drama. Amid paintings depicting American identity and life, one feels an emotion as though traveling back through the ages. The cold stone walls of the old building blend with warm color, drawing visitors into the heat of that era. Here, one does not simply look at art but seems to feel together the dawn, hardship, and hope of America.