Art Museum of the Americas

Art Museum of the Americas

Location within Washington, D.C.
Established	1976
Location	201 18th Street NW Washington, DC 20006
Coordinates	38°53′34″N 77°02′29″W / 38.892914°N 77.041495°W / 38.892914; -77.041495
Type	Art museum
Director	Andrés Navia
Public transit access	Farragut West
Website	http://www.museum.oas.org/

201 18th Street NW

Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) is an art museum located in Washington, D.C., primarily devoted to exhibiting works of modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean. The museum was formally established in 1976 by the Organization of American States (OAS). Artists represented in the AMA's permanent collection include Carlos Cruz-Diez, Candido Portinari, Pedro Figari, Fernando de Szyszlo, Amelia Peláez and Alejandro Obregón.

The art collection of the OAS was initiated under the organization's Visual Arts Unit, beginning with the first donated artwork by the Brazilian neo-realist artist Portinari, in 1949. In the following decade the Permanent Council of the OAS determined to establish an acquisitions fund, in order to build up a permanent collection of artworks by significant contemporary artists from the member states of the OAS. A number of works were also purchased from or donated directly by artists, after the temporary exhibitions periodically held at the OAS gallery.

The Art Museum of the Americas itself was established in 1976 by Permanent Council resolution, on the occasion of the United States Bicentennial. The museum opened in what was formerly the official residence of the OAS Secretary General, a Spanish Colonial-style structure designed in 1912 by the architect Paul Cret.