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Collections
Museum of the American West
The Museum of the American West was established in 1988 by legendary recording and movie star Gene Autry to explore and share the comprehensive story of the American West and the multiple cultures, perspectives, traditions, and experiences – real and imagined – that make the West a significant and unique part of the world.
The Museum's collection is comprised of nearly 21,000 paintings, sculptures, costumes, textiles, firearms, tools, toys, games, musical instruments and other historical objects.The Museum presents thought-provoking exhibitions and an ongoing and dynamic mix of programs and events that can be enjoyed throughout the year.
The Museum of the American West is located at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park.
Southwest Museum
The Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the oldest museum in Los Angeles, was founded by Charles Fletcher Lummis. Mr. Lummis was the first city editor for the Los Angeles Times. He was also a photographer, amateur anthropologist, and prolific historian of the southwestern United States who helped popularize the idea of Los Angeles as a multicultural city.
The Southwest Museum’s 238,000-piece collection of Native American art and artifacts is one of the most significant and representative of its kind in the United States, second only to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian. Comprised of 14,000 baskets, 10,000 ceramic items, 6,300 textiles and weavings, and more than 1,100 pieces of jewelry, the collection represents Indigenous peoples from Alaska to South America, with an emphasis on cultures from California and the Southwestern United States.
Explore the Collections
Explore our Collections Online database to see images of the fascinating art, objects, photographs, and documents in our collections.
Recent Acquisitions
Buffalo Bill Presentation Piece, 1891
William Cody, famous around the world as Buffalo Bill, first rose to superstar status between 1887 and 1902. The striking Buffalo Bill presentation display captures the moment when Europeans first fell in love with the romance and heroism of the American Wild West. The Bow Shooting Club of Antwerp, Belgium presented this piece to Cody in 1891 to commemorate his visit. It was then displayed in their club in Antwerp for almost 100 years, until around 1998.
Charrojacket, circa 1921
This jacket was made for the charro Alfredo Fernádez-Otáñez. Alfredo had lost his lands during the Mexican Revolution and left for the United States, where he briefly became an engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad until returning to Mexico. In 1921 he became a member of the newly formed National Association of Charros. According to family history, the detailed hand embroidery for this jacket, done by nuns in Puebla, Mexico, took seven months to complete.
Sisters
From the Tafoya family of potters from Santa Clara Pueblo, Tammy Garcia combines traditional motifs with her own, innovative designs to create engaging sculptures in ceramic and bronze. Garcia often covers the entire surface of her works in symmetric patterns and images, inviting her audience to view them from mulitple angles.
Collection Spotlights
Opera in the Autry Collections
This online exhibition draws on the collections of the Braun Research Library, the Autry Library, and the Museum of the American West. Featured items include a rare 1912 recording of French tenor Augustarello Affre recorded in Los Angeles by Charles F. Lummis and the libretto from "La Fanciulla del West" (The Girl of the Golden West) with music composed by Giacomo Puccini.
History and Cultures of Mexico and the Southwest
The Autry National Center’s permanent collection of colonial Latin American artifacts includes objects that exemplify the material culture of New Spain's northern frontier or "borderlands." The traditional arts of the borderlands, which developed over generations, reflect regional diversities.
Arms and Armor
The collection of arms and armor at the Autry National Center (encompassing the collections at the Museum of the American West and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian) is among the largest in the western United States.