Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
Seattle is known as the Emerald City for its year-round greenery. But within the lush locale are incredible cultural institutions that make up the crown jewels of the bustling metropolis. To experience them, look no further than the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). As one museum with three locations, the sprawling establishment has its roots in downtown with SAM, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood with the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), and along the vibrant downtown waterfront with the Olympic Sculpture Park. Together as well as separately, SAM boasts global collections with a focus on artists producing work within the greater Pacific Northwest.
Founded in 1933 in Volunteer Park as SAM, the current location was opened in 1991 and later expanded in 2007. It sits within the busy downtown core near the iconic Pike Place Market. Boasting a collection of 25,000 works from antiquity to the present, the museum’s light-filled galleries are an idyllic setting to take in artwork from around the world that bridges cultures and centuries. Some of SAM’s signature works are from Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder, and Jacob Lawrence—who lived and worked in Seattle—as well as a significant number of pieces from Native American artists.
Once you’ve visited SAM, venture 1 mile north to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Free to the public and open 365 days a year, the collection of monumental sculptures overlooks the waterfront with the Salish Sea and Olympic Mountains as a backdrop. Take a walk and see a giant 46-foot-tall head titled Echo by Jaume Plensa and Alexander Calder’s red Eagle, all while celebrating the land's transformation; it was a former industrial site that is now a cultural and ecological public space.
To round off your Seattle Art Museum experience, travel east to the Capitol Hill neighborhood—specifically, Volunteer Park. Paris-trained Seattle architect Carl Gould designed the Art Deco-style building that was the original site of SAM. When SAM moved in 1991, the Volunteer Park building was dedicated to exclusively Asian Art. Now SAAM, the collection features 13,000 works that span China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and beyond, with a curatorial approach that often organizes exhibits by themes to highlight works created across cultures.
Plan your visit to SAM, SAAM, and Olympic Sculpture Park by visiting the SAM website.
The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is one museum with three locations. SAM features a collection of 25,000 works from antiquity to the present.
Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
The museum’s light-filled galleries are an idyllic setting to take in artwork from around the world that bridges cultures and centuries.
Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
Some of SAM’s signature works are from Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder, and Jacob Lawrence—who lived and worked in Seattle—as well as a significant number of pieces from Native American artists.
Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
Once you’ve visited SAM, venture 1 mile north to the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Photo: © 2019 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved
Free to the public and open 365 days a year, the collection of monumental sculptures overlooks the waterfront with the Salish Sea and Olympic Mountains as a backdrop.
Photo: Natali Wiseman
Photo: Alborz Kamalizad
The Seattle Asian Art Museum is located in Volunteer Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, east of SAM and the sculpture park.
Photo: Chloe Collyer
Photo: Chloe Collyer
The collection features 13,000 works that span China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
Installation view of Meot: Korean Art from the Frank Bayley Collection, 2024. (Photo: Chloe Collyer)
Photo: Natali Wiseman
