Discover SAAM's New Exhibition of Self-Taught Art

Plan your visit to We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and discover the creative vision and personal journeys of 43 self-taught artists.

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New Exhibition at SAAM

We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection
Now On View

Smithsonian American Art Museum
8th and G Streets, NW
Open daily: 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. ET

Explore We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, which traces the rise of self-taught artists in the 20th century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and bold self-definition became major forces in American art.

We Are Made of Stories highlights forty-three game-changing artists including James Castle, Thornton Dial Sr., Howard Finster, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Nellie Mae Rowe, and Bill Traylor, among others, and gives insight into their powerful personal journeys. Showcasing artwork acquired by Margaret Z. and Douglas O. Robson, this family collection reflects their belief that stories from these artists offer a truer, more complete portrait of our nation's makers.

Plan Your Visit

Two wooden sculptures in the shape of an elephant and a dog

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Exhibition Credit: We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support has been provided by the Herbert Waide Hemphill Jr. American Folk Art Fund, Shaun and Andy Block, Steven Czekala, James and Catherine Denny, Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins, Travis Marquette and Sean Kosofsky, the Rumsfeld Family Fund, Jeff Rosensweig and Natalie Allen, and the Share Fund.

Image Credits:
Sister Gertrude Morgan, Fan, ca. 1970, paint and ink on card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.43R-V

Installation views of We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022. Photos by Albert Ting

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