American Friends of the Shanghai Museum continues a distinguished history of patron support for China's foremost art museum. Founded in 1995, it is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness of and financial support for the Shanghai Museum.

Located on People's Square, the Shanghai Museum is the city's cultural centerpiece. Housing collections of incomparable breadth and depth, it is a world-class institution for the exhibition, study and preservation of Chinese art and artifacts.

American Friends of the Shanghai Museum supports exhibitions, acquisitions, and educational programs at the Shanghai Museum and related projects in the United States. It sponsors a bi-annual Distinguished Scholar Award in Chinese Art History recognizing lifetime achievement in the field. In order to cultivate interest in the Shanghai Museum in the United States, American Friends organizes special events, educational talks and curator-led trips to China and other places of interest. American Friends also funds exchanges of scholars from China to U.S. museums.