Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum, commonly known as “SAM,” has grown from 1,926 pieces in 1933 to almost 25,000 pieces as of 2008. Its permanent collections range from the indigenous art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas to modern U.S. paintings and sculpture. Other galleries feature European exhibitions from the Medieval period through the 19th century.

The museum also presents traveling exhibitions. Recent ones have featured Annie Liebovitz photographs and ancient Chinese art from Sichuan. At its entrance stands an impressive 48 feet (15 m) black metal sculpture, named the Hammering Man by sculptor Jonathan Borofsky.

The Seattle Art Museum has a steel-and-glass fronted structure, which opened in 1991 and expanded in 2006. To reach the galleries, you walk up a grand staircase and then walk the gauntlet between guardian figures and sacred camels from the Ming dynasty.

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