: After more than six years of extensive renovation, the
Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery,
housed in the historic 1836 Patent Office Building, reopened to
the public on July 1. Seeking to expand exhibition space and
reveal the full magnificence of the Greek Revival building's
architectural features, the Smithsonian spent $166 million in
federal funds and $117 million in private contributions on the
project. The reward is an aesthetically enhanced structure filled
with handsome galleries holding some of the best art in America.
The two museums, located in what is known as the Donald W.
Reynolds Center for American Art and Architecture (in honor of
the largest private donor), now share a main entrance on F
Street. The G Street entrance serves tour groups and provides
access to the shared museums' stores and exhibitions.
There are 152,000 square feet of exhibition space in the
renovated building, nearly 60,000 square feet more than before.
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) occupies 57,000 square feet,
the American Art Museum (SAAM) 95,000 square feet. Administrative
and other offices have been moved to the nearby Victor Building.
With more than 41,000 artworks in all media spanning more than
three centuries, SAAM features some of the nation's finest visual
arts in the world's largest collection of American art. The NPG's
collection of nearly 20,000 paintings, drawings, sculpture and
photographs depict men and women who have made important
contributions to the history and culture of the nation.
SAAM boasts a number of works by Edward Hopper, including "Cape
Cod Morning," 1950, which captures a sense of loneliness and of
place in an area where the artist had his summer home.
Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Public spaces are devoted to two new facilities: the Lunder
Conservation Center (the first conservation facility in the country
that allows public viewing of preservation work in progress through
floor-to-ceiling glass windows) and the Luce Foundation Center for
American Art (an art storage and study center with more than 3,200
works from SAAM's permanent collection visible in secure glass
cases). The two museums share a new 346-seat, state-of-the-art
auditorium, and in late 2007 will also share an enclosed courtyard
designed by British architect Norman Foster.
A small exhibition covering the history of the building was
organized by former SAAM deputy director Charles Robertson. His
fully illustrated, 112-page book, Temple of Invention: History
of a National Landmark, detailing the historical and cultural
significance of the structure, was co-published by SAAM, NPG and
Scala Publishers and sells for $19.95.
