The Seattle Art Museum

Written by Scott Messmore

The Seattle Art Museum has led the way in the Pacific Northwest for collecting fine art and creating a large assortment of Asian Art. The Seattle Art Museum was started in 1933 with the donation of Dr. Richard Fuller's Asian art collection that he had amassed from his personal travels. The Seattle Art Museum began with fine examples of jade from China and sculptures from the Qing Dynasty. Eventually, the Seattle Art Museum expanded so much that it split to from another organization, the Seattle Asian Art Museum,

© Seattle Art Museum

located in Volunteer Park. In the downtown museum location at 100 University Street, African art, Modern art, European paintings and Native American art of the Pacific Northwest are on display to the public. The massive 48-foot tall, 26,000 pound Hammering Man greets visitors at the museum's entrance. At the Volunteer Park location, Japanese, Chinese, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Korean art is on display. The collections include a Chinese 41-foot wooden sculpture from the 14th century titled Monk at the Moment of Enlightenment. Both sites have more than 21,000 works of art representing artistic expression from around the globe.

Shaker Objects and Their Affinities

Presently on exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum is 'Creating Perfection: Shaker Objects and Their Affinities'. The exhibit has 150 works of Shaker furniture from dressers and ladders

© Seattle Art Museum

to simple chairs and shovels, all showing the purity of purpose and design known world wide. Public tours are offered for free showing the history of Shaker furniture, their everyday usefulness and the impact of Shaker life and art work on future generations. A unique part of the exhibit is the Please Touch Room located on the third floor. The room is filled with Shaker furniture, baskets and tools that kids and adults can touch and operate.

Gallery Guide

Tired of visiting a museum and not really understanding what you are looking at? The Seattle Art Museum offers the Gallery Guide, a CD-ROM player with information on more than 350 art works. Museum members can rent the Gallery Guide for free, nonmembers are charged one dollar.

Hours of Operation and Location

The Seattle Art Museum is located at 100 University Street. The museum

Photo: Susan Dirk
© Seattle Art Museum

is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. On Thursday, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. The museum is closed on Mondays, Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission to the museum is: adults, $7; seniors, students with identification, $5. First Thursday of each month is free to all visitors. For seniors 62 years and older, the first Friday of the month is free. Free tours of the museum are available. For group tours, reservations must be made two weeks prior to visiting the Seattle Art Museum. For group tour information, call 206-654-3123. The Teacher Resource Center is an art educational program used by area instructors. Located in Volunteer Park, it is open from 2 to 8 p.m., Thursdays, 2 to 5 p.m., Fridays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. For museum membership ($50 per year, $28 for seniors and students), call 206-654-3180.

For more information about the Seattle Art Museum, call 206-625-8900 or 206-654- 8900.