Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park
Climb up to Capitol Hill and find the museum's original 1933 Art Deco building at 1400 East Prospect Street, devoted to Asian art since 1994. After closing in 2017 for a renovation and expansion, it reopened in February 2020. Before you go inside, pause out front at Isamu Noguchi's sculpture Black Sun, installed in 1969.
Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront
Stroll through nine acres at 2901 Western Avenue, where large outdoor works stand against the backdrop of the water. The park opened in 2007 after an eight-year effort, and it is home to both Alexander Calder's Eagle and Richard Serra's Wake. Add it to your day if you are already exploring Seattle's parks and the waterfront.
Highlights of the collection
When the museum opened in 1933 it held 1,926 pieces, and today that number has grown to about 25,000. With that kind of range, you can wander from Renaissance Europe to Pacific Northwest painting to contemporary sculpture in a single afternoon. Not every piece is on view at all times, so check the museum's listings before you set your heart on a particular work.
Works worth seeking out
- The Judgment of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder, painted around 1516 to 1518, is a highlight of the European holdings.
- Mark Tobey's Electric Night (1944) brings you face to face with the Northwest School, a movement with deep ties to Seattle and to SAM's own exhibition history.
- Yéil X'eenh (Raven Screen), from around 1810 and attributed to the Tlingit artist Kadyisdu.axch', is a major work of Northwest Coast Native art.
- Do-Ho Suh's Some/One (2001) stands out in the contemporary collection.
- Kane Quaye's coffin shaped like a Mercedes-Benz (1991) has a way of stopping visitors in their tracks.
Ongoing galleries and current shows
Anchor your visit downtown with the installations listed as ongoing, which you can count on finding. Browse Impressionisms: The Global Nineteenth Century, American Art: The Stories We Carry, Chronicles of a Global East and Yirrkala: Art from Australia's Top End, then linger in a gallery of ash-glazed ceramics from Korea and Japan. Goya's print series Los Caprichos also has an ongoing showing.
For timed exhibitions, catch Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan through January 17, 2027, or see Fred Sandback: Lines in Space, which opened October 29, 2026. Out at the sculpture park, Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is scheduled through October 24, 2027. Exhibition dates can shift, so confirm them on the museum's official website.
Plan your downtown visit
A little planning makes your day smoother, especially around holidays and on weekends.
Hours and holidays
Plan around Monday and Tuesday, when the downtown museum is closed. From Wednesday through Sunday the doors open at 10 am, closing at 5 pm on most days and staying open until 8 pm on Thursday for an evening visit. The shop opens at the same time and stays open until closing, so you can browse on your way out.
You can also visit on several holidays, including Veterans Day, Native American Heritage Day, New Year's Day, Juneteenth and Independence Day. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, expect shortened hours from 10 am to 3 pm, and note that the museum closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Hours can change, so check the official site before heading out.
Tickets
Buy your tickets online in advance, which the museum strongly encourages, to guarantee entry on the day you want. Admission is sold for both the downtown museum and the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and discounts are available. SAM is also part of the Seattle C3 pass, which bundles three major attractions, and the official ticketing page lists current prices.
Getting there and parking
Hop on transit for the easiest trip, since a ticket to SAM downtown or the Seattle Asian Art Museum lets you ride public transit for free. Cyclists will find bike racks along the surrounding streets. If someone is dropping you off, use the zones on the south side of Union Street and the east side of First Avenue near Union, between 9 am and 3 pm.
Driving? Park at one of two partner garages with discounted rates. The 1301 Garage on Union Street between First and Second Avenues is ADA accessible and offers elevator access to the museum's second floor, while the 3rd and Stewart Garage sits about four blocks away. Ask at the ticketing desk about parking vouchers, since the discount and the days it applies differ by garage.
The story behind the buildings
SAM's roots reach back to arts groups formed in 1905 and 1906 that later merged. In 1931, in the depths of the Great Depression, Richard E. Fuller and his mother, Margaret MacTavish Fuller, gave the money to build a museum in Volunteer Park, on land the city provided; the city still owns the building. Fuller went on to lead the museum into the 1970s without ever drawing a salary.
Hammering Man
Look up as you approach the downtown entrance to see Jonathan Borofsky's Hammering Man, installed in 1992. The giant figure was meant to arrive for the 1991 opening, but it fell during installation and went back to the foundry for repairs. On Labor Day 1993, local artists famously chained a 700 pound ball to its leg as a guerrilla prank, and today it remains one of downtown's most recognizable Seattle landmarks.
Blockbusters and a landmark settlement
Headline shows have long been part of the museum's story. A 1959 Van Gogh exhibition drew 126,100 visitors, a 1974 retrospective honored Jacob Lawrence, who had recently settled in Seattle, and in 1997 Leonardo Lives displayed the Codex Leicester. That same decade, SAM returned a Matisse painting looted by the Nazis to the heirs of dealer Paul Rosenberg, in what was the first lawsuit against an American museum over wartime plunder.
Two research libraries
Dig deeper at SAM's two art libraries. The Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Library covers areas such as African, European, modern and contemporary art and photography, and the McCaw Foundation Library for Asian Art dates to the museum's founding year of 1933.
Make a day of it
Pair the downtown museum with Pike Place Market, just a block away, then take a walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Park. A visit to the Asian Art Museum fits naturally with time in Volunteer Park and the surrounding Capitol Hill neighborhood. For more ideas nearby, browse our guide to things to do in Seattle.
