Seattle Asian Art Museum
About
What It Is
The Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) is an art museum dedicated to historic and contemporary Asian art, situated within Volunteer Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. [2] It operates as a branch of the Seattle Art Museum and focuses on works from China, Korea, Japan, India, the Himalayas, and other parts of Southeast Asia. [2] The museum is housed in a 1933 Art Moderne building designed by architect Carl F. Gould, which originally served as the main home of the Seattle Art Museum before that collection relocated downtown in 1991. [1][2] The building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is designated a Seattle Landmark. [2]
Activities & Experiences
Visitors can explore thirteen permanent collection galleries organized thematically around subjects such as spirituality, worship, celebration, visual arts, literature, clothing, nature, and the cycle of life and death. [2][3] One large gallery is reserved for rotating special exhibitions, which change approximately every six months. [2] The museum also houses an Asian Paintings Conservation Center, an education center, and a library. [2] Notable holdings include a monumental fourteenth-century wood-carved Buddhist sculpture, significant Ming and Qing dynasty paintings, and an eighth-century Tang dynasty sutra manuscript traceable to Dunhuang's Library Cave. [4]
Practical Access
The museum is located at 1400 E Prospect Street, Seattle, WA 98122, and can be reached by public transit via Capitol Hill station. [2][6] The museum's ticketing page encourages visitors to purchase tickets online in advance to secure access on their preferred date. [5] The phone number for the museum is (206) 654-3140. [6]
Restrictions
No specific restrictions noted in the sources.
What Makes It Distinctive
SAAM is one of only a few museums in the United States dedicated exclusively to the arts of Asia, setting it apart from general art museums with Asian wings or galleries. [4] Its 2020 expansion, designed by LMN Architects, introduced a thematic curatorial approach that groups works from across Asia and across time periods together, rather than organizing them by culture or chronology, offering visitors a view of shared connections and cross-cultural exchange. [2][4] The building itself carries independent architectural significance as the first museum in the United States designed in the Art Moderne style, with a facade of Wilkeson sandstone and an entryway that was an early use of aluminum as an exterior decorative element. [1] The founding collection of Asian art assembled by Richard E. Fuller and his mother Margaret Fuller remains a core part of the museum's holdings. [1][4]
Sources
- Seattle Asian Art Museum – Visit Seattle
- Construction begins on Seattle Asian Art Museum Renovation and Expansion – Seattle Parkways
- Open year-round
- Typical duration: 2h
Access & fees
- general admission: adult $14.99
- online ticket purchase encouraged
Things to do
- view asian art
- view permanent collection
- view special exhibitions
- visit education center
Before you go
- buy tickets online in advance
Features
- 13 permanent galleries
- 14th-century wood-carved luohan sculpture
- 2020 expansion completed
- art moderne building
- asian art focus
- asian art museum
- branch of seattle art museum
- chinese collection
- conservation center
- education center
- first us art moderne museum
- library on-site
- national register of historic places
- opened as saam
- owned by city of seattle
- rotating special exhibition
- sam branch museum
- seattle landmark designation
- tang dynasty sutra manuscript
- thematic curatorial approach
- wilkeson sandstone facade
Nearby
- capitol hill district
- capitol hill station
- volunteer park
Good to know
- address
- advance online booking highly encouraged through the Seattle Art Museum ticket portal
- capitol hill neighborhood
- neighborhood
- official website
- phone number
- within volunteer park