October 8, 2021 – February 13, 2023
Featuring highlights of American West–themed posters from the silent film era, The Silent West shows the varied range of the industry prior to “talkies” and the consolidation of the studio system. The posters showcase a stunning art form in a remarkable era of commercial lithography. This small exhibition also reveals the cinematic West of the 1910s and 1920s to be quite modern, engaging topics still relevant to the real West. Although a large proportion of silent films themselves are lost, the posters reflect film artists and entrepreneurs experimenting with a new medium. Women and people of color served as writers, directors, stunt performers, and other creators in greater numbers than in later movies.
May 21, 2022 – January 3, 2023
What stories do clothes tell? What do a pair of blue jeans or a plaid shirt say about the wearer and their identity? The exhibition examines what we wear, how we wear it, and why through six enduring icons of Western style: blue jeans, the plaid shirt, the fringed leather jacket, the aloha shirt, the China Poblana dress, and the cowboy boot. Featuring more than 150 objects—including apparel drawn primarily from the Autry’s extensive clothing and textile collection as well as art, photography, and historical artifacts—this exhibition excavates the histories embedded in these key garments and explores their connections to ideas of Western identity, tradition, individual freedom, hybridity, and reinvention.
November 20, 2020* – August 29, 2021
*The museum was closed to the public from March 14, 2020 – March 30, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, What’s Her Story: Women in the Archives reveals compelling stories of women found in the Autry’s collections. This exhibit will showcase Assistance League of Los Angeles, Caroline Boeing Poole, Gladys Knight Harris, Native Voices theatre ensemble, and Women’s March participants as 20th and 21st century women who documented their activities and created archives as a way to preserve a legacy in their own voice. Also featured are stories of Bertha Parker Cody, Manuela Garcia, Clara Forslund, and an “Unidentified Woman,” whose lives were documented in archives made by other creators: friends, colleagues, government agencies, and other institutions that produced written and visual records.
What’s Her Story also looks behind the scenes to share how the work of archivists brings the more hidden narratives to light-- weaving in and out of primary source evidence to color in details, amplify voices, and begin the discovery of women’s stories. In personal diaries, photographs, letters, music, objects, and ephemera, you will meet women philanthropists, solo sojourners, political activists, artists, and a pioneering anthropologist.
September 25, 2020* – November 14, 2021
*The museum was closed to the public from March 14, 2020 – March 30, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beginning with the occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, California became a beacon of creative freedom, individual expression, and social activism for Native peoples across the country. The region quickly transformed into a place where Native artists engaged with cultural diversity, historical traditions, and contemporary art to critique its colonial past. As a result, California became a site of artistic achievement within the broader story of Native art.
This exhibition features Native California artists who have used their work as a means of cultural resistance and renewal. Many have helped—and continue to help—restore aspects of ceremony, dance, language, and material culture once in danger of disappearing. Several facilitate workshops, teaching the next generation, and curate exhibitions consisting of work by their peers. Some of the pieces displayed are explicitly political in content, but in general aim more to reverse erasure and invisibility while reasserting Native values and sovereignty. Collectively, the artists in this exhibition practice a version of activism that combines elements of traditional and contemporary society to call out racial and social injustice and to heal communities through cultural renewal.
When I Remember I See Red was conceived by, and is dedicated to, Nomtipom Wintu artist Frank LaPena (1936–2019), a renowned art writer, curator, poet, traditionalist, and professor at Sacramento State University for 40 years. When I Remember I See Red: American Indian Art and Activism in California was organized by the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, with support from the United Auburn Indian Community.
September 12, 2019 – July 19, 2020*
*The museum was closed to the public from March 14, 2020 – March 30, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Gold is a precious, beautiful metal, but it can also be an empty promise. A desire for gold has led to atrocities large and small, yet its allure remains. Discover a range of gold-related artworks and artifacts through a new self-guided tour and special exhibits.
May 19, 2019–January 5, 2020
Featuring paintings, sketches, and lithographs, Coyote Leaves the Res: The Art of Harry Fonseca focuses on the recurring figure of Coyote, a trickster, shape shifter, and storyteller capable of moving undetected between different worlds. This exhibition explores the complexity of Harry Fonseca’s (Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, Portuguese, 1946–2006) art within the context of a contemporary world, in which new freedoms and old biases often exist side-by-side. As both a gay man and a person of mixed heritage, Fonseca used his work as a vehicle for self-discovery a means of navigating different aspects of his life and identity during a time when ideas about Native peoples were often driven by outside forces, including commercial markets, tourism, and historical clichés.
Fonseca was an instrumental force in reshaping Native art with his trademark blend of traditional imagery, contemporary experience, and vibrant color and form. As he used his art to explore both his personal journey and the role of history in shaping Native consciousness in the present, Fonseca sought to expand definitions of American Indian art and to shatter the expectations and stereotypes that had long confined it.
March 31, 2019–January 5, 2020
The exhibition Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley explores the artist's four-decade career and his deeply thoughtful body of work, a combination of personal experience, social observation, and the influence of art historical icons from Leonardo da Vinci to René Magritte and Andy Warhol.
September 16, 2017–February 10, 2019
Published in Los Angeles from 1967-1977, the influential bilingual newspaper La Raza provided a voice to the Chicano Rights Movement. La Raza engaged photographers not only as journalists but also as artists and activists to capture the definitive moments, key players, and signs and symbols of Chicano activism. The archive of nearly 25,000 images created by these photographers, now housed at the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA, provided the foundation for an exhibition exploring photography’s role in articulating the social and political concerns of the Chicano Movement during a pivotal time in the art and history of the United States. LA RAZA was the most sustained examination to date of both the photography and the alternative press of the Chicano Movement, positioning photography not only as an artistic medium but also as a powerful tool of social activism.
In response to the LA RAZA exhibition, the Autry’s education department created the Autry Citizen Journalism Project zine. The publication celebrates the work of the women and men who, in the late 1960s and 1970s, contributed to La Raza, the bi-lingual newspaper-turned-magazine at the heart of the Chicano Rights Movement. The project’s goal is to recognize the continuing need for citizen journalism and to engage with the Los Angeles community in a new way. Contributors were asked to share their community’s challenges, successes, issues, and stories to be published online and in hard copies distributed at the Autry. Residents from across Los Angeles County from various backgrounds participated in the project by serving as citizen journalists for their communities.
Volume 1, Issue 1, Fall 2017: Signs of the Times, shares scenes of action and protest. This issue is about visibility, voice, and the longing for recognition and respect.
Volume 1, Issue 2, January 2018: LA: LA, provides a nuanced vision of life in LA, sharing complex stories of Los Angeles residents as told by Angelenos.
Volume 1, Issue 3, Fall 2018: Portraits of a Community, shares poetry, essays, and photographs from Angelenos and is organized into four chapters (Community Support, Immigrant, Neglect, and Post-Parkland)
May 12, 2018 - January 6, 2019
Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain represents the artist’s first major retrospective and a contribution to the substantial growing body of scholarship on contemporary Native artists. Bartow (Mad River Band Wiyot) established his art career in the 1980s following service in Vietnam and a period of recovery from PTSD and alcoholism. His work consists of large-scale paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures that often feature haunting combinations of animal and human forms, and are often both deeply personal and culturally relevant. Divided into thematic sections such as “Self,” “Dialogue,” and “Tradition,” this exhibition speaks directly to the personal and cultural aspects of traditional Native art within Bartow’s oeuvre while demonstrating his close engagement with the work of 20th-century masters, including Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
March 3, 2018–September 30, 2018
The Life and Work of Mabel McKay was the Autry’s first-ever solo show dedicated to a Native American woman’s life and work. Mabel McKay (1907–1993), a Long Valley Cache Creek Pomo woman from Northern California, represents a fascinating modern figure who maintained traditional ways. McKay is celebrated as a master basket weaver, traditional healer, advocate for her community and the environment, and teacher who shared her knowledge of Pomo traditions worldwide.
September 16, 2017–August 5, 2018
Photographer, essayist, and performance artist Harry Gamboa Jr. calls into question the relationship between the stereotypes of Mexican American men and the far more diverse community of artists, writers, academics, performers, and other creative thinkers who identify as Chicano in his Chicano Male Unbonded series. Photographed at night and situated within various aspects of Los Angeles’s distinctive urban geography, his subjects together comprise the Chicano avant-garde.
February 26-May 7, 2017
This special installation displayed four large-scale photogravures of Indigenous North American women, taken between 1910 and 1928 by photographer Edward S. Curtis. The display was part of a cognitive science study seeking to determine if viewers might move beyond stereotypical conceptions of American Indians through “perspective-taking,” or adopting the point of view of the photographic subjects. Museum visitors who participated in the study viewed each of four exhibited photographs for one minute. After viewing each photograph, participants were asked to describe the photograph as well as any responses they had to the photograph. After describing their impressions and reactions, participants rated how emotionally moved they were. This installation, combined with a broader study conducted in a laboratory setting, informed the conclusions later published by cognitive scientists Aleksandra Sherman and Lani Cupo and American Indian studies scholar Nancy Marie Mithlo (Chiricahua Apache). Sherman, Cupo, and Mithlo determined that while perspective-taking increased empathy and emotional connection to the images, it failed to diminish—and sometimes increased—stubborn cultural biases toward American Indians.
Related Publication
“Perspective-taking increases emotionality and empathy but does not reduce harmful biases against American Indians: Converging evidence from the museum and lab”
Aleksandra Sherman, Lani Cupo, and Nancy Marie Mithlo
PLOS ONE journal (February 2020)
February 11–March 26, 2017
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
June 18, 2017–January 7, 2018
Through more than 200 historic objects from the Autry’s diverse collections, Play! explored the role of toys and games across cultures and over time. Featuring dolls, board games, video games, outdoor activities, and more, the exhibition looked at the many ways children have played in the American West, the social values toys reveal, and how the West has inspired imagination. Beyond the displays, visitors were invited to get hands-on with games of the past and present—no assembly required.
May 20, 2017–February 18, 2018
This exhibition of poster art, clothing, and photographs demonstrated the immediacy of the protests and conflicts as they unfolded, while a video art piece by the Native collaborators of Winter Count explored the broader meanings of these events. In the context of the Autry’s galleries, this display echoed a long history of conflict between a settler society and Indigenous nations in the American West.
June 4, 2016–January 8, 2017
Featuring more than 80 striking photographs, Revolutionary Vision explored the intertwined legacies of f/64, California’s premier photo-modernist group, and Richard Misrach, one of the state’s best-known contemporary photographers. This traveling exhibition included works by Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Richard Misrach, Edward Weston, and others who present changing visions of the Western landscape.
February 6–March 20, 2016
The Autry’s Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale has become the country’s most important Western art show. Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
September 12, 2015–August 6, 2017
California Impressionism featured a selection of paintings from the Gardena High School collection, including major works by notable artists such as Jean Mannheim and Edgar Payne. Each year from 1919 to 1956, Gardena High School seniors collaborated to select and purchase contemporary art that they gifted to the school upon graduation. The paintings reflected the state’s scenic diversity as well as the vitality of Gardena High School’s program and the Impressionist movement that once flourished here.
August 8, 2015–July 9, 2017
Inspired by the gift of 49 paintings and sculptures from the collection of Loretta and Victor Kaufman, this exhibition highlighted recent additions to the Autry’s growing art collections. The exhibition featured a powerful selection of works representing diverse peoples and perspectives, including bronzes by Frederic Remington and Allan Houser, paintings by Rick Bartow and Eanger Irving Couse, lithographs by Fritz Scholder, watercolors by David Einstein, and others that revealed a set of dynamic visions of the American West.
April 25, 2015–January 3, 2016
Empire and Liberty was the first major museum exhibition to illuminate the causes and legacies of the American Civil War from the vantage point of Westward expansion. The exhibition included an astonishing array of more than 200 artifacts, including Texas slave sale documents, Andrés Pico’s war drum, the battle flag carried by soldiers of the California Hundred, a Buffalo Soldier’s revolver, and Cherokee General Stand Watie’s bowie knife.
January 31–March 8, 2015
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
September 13, 2014–August 23, 2015
Through photography and audio interviews, artist Kim Stringfellow explored how the desire to flee the urban sprawl of Los Angeles and stake a claim in the California desert resulted in a collection of derelict cabins from the 1950s and the reclamation of the same land and structures for a burgeoning artistic community today. The exhibition also explored issues of land use and ecology that complicate the settlement of the arid West. In 2012, Stringfellow became the second recipient of the Theo Westenberger Award for Artistic Excellence, presented by the Autry to honor contemporary women whose work in photography, film, and new media transforms how we see the American West.
June 8, 2014–January 4, 2015
Route 66: The Road and the Romance took visitors through a historical journey along the iconic symbol of America’s move westward. Visitors were presented with the facts and the fiction surrounding the Mother Road through more than 250 extraordinary artifacts that traced the history of the route and its impact on American popular culture.
March 15, 2014–April 26, 2015
Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork delved beneath the surface of its 250 beaded objects to explore the personal stories and cultural meanings behind each piece. The exhibition was the first of its kind to explore how beaded floral designs became a remarkable art form as well as a means of economic and cultural survival for the Native North American people.
Companion Publication
Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork
By Lois Sherr Dubin
Autry / University of Washington Press (2014)
May 10, 2013–January 5, 2014
Though Los Angeles is known for its cultural diversity, this groundbreaking exhibition focused on the history of a specific group, the Jewish community, and how they fit their culture and identity into the Los Angeles mosaic. This exhibition told the story of neighborhoods like Boyle Heights and Fairfax, people like Billy Wilder, Max Factor, and Frank Gehry, and lynchpin industries like the movies and suburban land development.
Companion Publication
Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic
Karen Wilson, Editor
University of California Press (2013)
February 2–March 17, 2013
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
August 10, 2012–January 6, 2013
“The newness of California, and the state’s periodic bursts of population growth, afforded unprecedented opportunities for women to participate in the creation and production of design, one of the principal engines of California’s dynamic economy, now the sixth largest in the world. As California’s extraordinary role in American design is receiving the recognition it has long deserved, California’s Designing Women, 1896–1986 acknowledges the work of more than fifty of the women who, as designers and entrepreneurs, helped make that distinction possible.” —Bill Stern, Guest Curator
June 29, 2012–December 1, 2013
This exhibition featured a remarkable collection of Katsina dolls from the Autry’s Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, providing a glimpse into Hopi life and culture. Katsinam (the plural form of Katsina) are spiritual beings who represent all aspects of life and travel to be with the Hopi people six months of the year. Told from the Hopi perspective, this exhibition shared the unique relationship the Hopi people have with the Katsinam, focusing on the values, lessons, and encouraging messages learned from them.
May 12, 2012–July 1, 2012
One of the most celebrated painters of the American West, Howard Terpning’s works illuminated the daily life and culture of the Plains People. Using historical research, meticulous attention to detail, and sweeping landscape vistas, Terpning created engaging and open-ended stories about life, family, and survival on the Western frontier. This extraordinary retrospective of Terpning's work brought together more than eighty masterworks, some never before displayed to the public.
April 14, 2012–September 9, 2012
Experience a series of panoramic photographs by the Autry’s first Theo Westenberger Award for Artistic Excellence winner, Karen Halverson. Drawing upon historical photographic surveys of Western landscapes, Halverson’s work examined the effects of time and urban expansion on these natural landscapes. Her work both honored traditional photographic approaches to Western lands and probed the impact of those same visual constructions.
February 4–March 18, 2012
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
October 14, 2011–January 8, 2012
Organized by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center with guest curators Chon Noriega and Terezita Romo.
Before the rise of the Chicano art movement, there existed a generation of Mexican-American artists who paved the way for future generations of minority group artists. This exhibition explored the dynamic between these early twentieth century artists, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and the cultural history of Los Angeles itself. Art Along the Hyphen was part of a unique four-exhibition project called L.A. Xicano organized by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center in partnership with the Autry, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
November 6, 2009–May 6, 2012
Organized by the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.
Drawing from the extensive and stunning collections of the Southwest Museum, this approximately 250-piece exhibition focused on the artistry and cultural significance behind Native American basketry. Through exploring the geographically arranged gallery, visitors were able to see how the materials, techniques, and designs of the baskets varied from region to region, reflecting different physical environments and traditions.
April 29, 2011–August 21, 2011
When the pioneers of flight conquered the air, it was possible for the first time to look down at the Earth—to perceive its curving horizon, witness its smallness. Skydreamers used more than 150 primarily photographic images to chart the story of the men and women who, from the 1700s through the Space Age, made this incredible leap of faith.
Companion Publication
Sky Dreamers: A Saga of Air and Space
By Stephen White, Simon Winchester, Michael Benson
Stephen White Editions/ Autry National Center (2010)
February 5, 2011–March 20, 2011
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
September 24, 2010–January 9, 2011
While completing three murals in 1932 Los Angeles, David Alfaro Siqueiros explored new techniques and experimented with perspective, all the while fomenting a new artistic and political aesthetic that took root in the city but eventually resulted in his near deportation. This exhibition, which featured more than 100 works and materials drawn from archives across the continent, explored this fertile period in the life and work of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.
April 16, 2010–August 22, 2010
From ancient pueblos to modern suburbs, women have shaped the Western landscape through choices about how to sustain home, family, and community. Home Lands: How Women Made the West brings together women's history, Western history, and environmental history to show how women have been at the heart of the Western enterprise across cultures and over time. Historical artifacts, art, photographs, and biographies of individual women led visitors through three distinctive Western environments created and inhabited by women.
Companion Publication
Home Lands: How Women Made the West
By Virginia Scharff and Carolyn Brucken
University of California Press (2009)
February 6, 2010–March 7, 2010
Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
September 25, 2009–January 3, 2010
Organized by Harry Chandler.
Native son and photographer Harry Brant Chandler brought a set of compelling and evocative color portraits, personal insights, and biographies of fifty-four of the most accomplished and colorful men and women from the City of Angels to this exhibition. Chandler is a fifth-generation member of the Chandlers and Brants in Los Angeles, families whose dreams helped shaped the city—from the founding and running of the Los Angeles Times to numerous civic, business, and real estate endeavors. Chandler’s choice to colorize and customize the older photographs was based on his heartfelt notion that yesterday’s dreamers who have long since passed are as vibrant today as when their dreams were first born.
September 25, 2009–January 3, 2010
Organized by the Phoenix Art Museum.
This exhibition explored the much-celebrated Grand Canyon, featuring the vivid colors, breathtaking vistas, and jaw-dropping canyon depths that have lured photographers to Northern Arizona for years. In 2007, Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe headed to the Grand Canyon to identify the exact locations portrayed in early photographs and drawings. From those geographic points, they created new photographs that digitally incorporated parts of the original view to create an altogether new vision of the landscape.
July 17, 2009–January 3, 2010
Traditional Western landscape painting often overlooks the surface of the terrain in favor of grand vistas and the power and control that they imply. Karen Kitchel’s Seasonal Overture challenged this approach by bringing the viewer into close contact with the landscape surface. The series consisted of forty individual oil paintings, representing four different places and seasons. Just as the natural cycles of growth and death are charted through the change of season, so were the different colors, textures, and character of these distinct places.
June 12, 2009–October 4, 2009
This exhibition introduced visitors to the people who pioneered modern rock climbing and those who are taking it in incredible new directions.
April 16, 2009–August 23, 2009
Organized by Tennessee State Museum.
This exhibition told the story of country music icon Marty Stuart's personal experiences with some of the most famous stars of American music, highlighting several of the greatest performers on the country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and Southern gospel scenes. Visitors were invited to discover what life on the road really meant and learn about the struggles and triumphs these performers experienced in order to succeed.
"I made it my mission to save the historic relics of country music, not just because they were things I loved, but to preserve them as cultural artifacts," says Marty Stuart.
November 1, 2008–May 10, 2009
Organized by the Autry in association with Arizona State University's Hispanic Research Center.
All over the world, stories and folktales are told about certain bandits who stand for social justice. Often, the popular mind converts real historical figures such as Tiburcio Vásquez and the leaders of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 into folk heroes. This exhibition focused on the Latino experience and the interplay of fact and fantasy in the depiction of Latina and Latino "noble bandits."
October 4, 2008–January 4, 2009
The Autry revealed a startling exhibition of contemporary art drawn primarily from its permanent collection. Maverick Art emphasized work created after 1990 to reveal how contemporary artists see the West now as an artistic resource. While some explored the lingering presence of frontier icons such as cowboys and Indians, others have found new ways to connect Western mythos with the modern experience, revealing a dynamic place where tradition and innovation existed side by side.
April 12, 2008–September 7, 2008
This national traveling exhibit explained how the presidency became intertwined with the emerging image of a heroic American cowboy at the turn of the twentieth century and explored the ways that U.S. Presidents have used this powerful iconographic symbol to define themselves and their administrations to the nation and the world. It also showed how the press, foreign governments, and domestic political opponents found cowboy imagery useful in criticizing presidential policy and leadership.
February 28, 2008–October 5, 2008
Artist J. Michael Walker used the saints and the streets bearing their names to uncover the soul of Los Angeles, the City of the Angels. Los Angeles is home to 103 streets named for saints, hearkening back to the time when Spanish settlers bestowed upon new territories the names of saints to invoke their protection. By connecting the stories of the saints with the people and places of L.A., Walker illuminated the many facets of Los Angeles' multicultural heritage, from a troubled past including forced Native labor and greedy land developers to a contemporary landscape of economic chasms and newly built cultural bridges.
February 2, 2008–March 2, 2008
The Autry’s Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale has become the country’s most important Western art show. Each year, more than seventy nationally and internationally recognized contemporary Western artists challenge themselves to create and exhibit their very best work. Stylistically and thematically diverse, their works represent the extraordinary range of subject matter that contemporary, historic, and mythic Western experiences continue to inspire.
September 7, 2007–January 27, 2008
This exhibit explored the groundbreaking work of Indigenous photographers from the mid-19th century through today. Alongside the photographs from the Autry’s Braun Research Library was the touring exhibition Our People, Our Land, Our Images: International Indigenous Photographers. Together, these two bodies of work explored the relationship between historic and contemporary images of Native people and colonial perceptions.
June 22, 2007–January 13, 2008
For the Centennial anniversary of Gene Autry’s birth, the Autry created an exhibition to honor the life of the entertainer, business man, service man in the US Army Air Corps, media maverick, sports team owner, and philanthropist who founded the museum. With a career that spanned the decades of the twentieth century, Gene Autry was more than an icon in America’s cultural landscape – he helped shape it.
May 18, 2007-August 12, 2007
In Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, more than 50 exceptional American firearms illustrated how art, historical events, and popular culture have influenced the design and symbolism of decorative weaponry. Each piece, serves to illuminate and celebrate the 19th and 20th centuries and the mythic West. Learn more about the stories behind Annie Oakley's Smith & Wesson, the wondrous beauty of the Autry-Tiffany Dragoon that was given to Gene on his 81st birthday, and many other special and legendary firearms.
March 30, 2007-May 27, 2007
Traveling back over 100 years, visitors experienced California's remarkable Victorian-era opulence in this exhibition. Classic California and Western American paintings were exhibited alongside sumptuous ball gowns and magnificent 19th century wedding dresses, offering an invaluable glimpse of life, land, work, and fashion during this unique period.
Part I: September 22, 2006–January 21, 2007
Part II: November 10, 2006–April 22, 2007.
Visitors were invited to explore Yosemite through the eyes of its artists, experience its changing image, and learn about its impact as a cultural phenomenon. Granted to the state of California in 1864, Yosemite is often credited as the birthplace of the “national park” idea. From landscape greats and contemporary photographers to Native weavers, Yosemite’s transition from remote haven to nation destination was the focus of this exhibition, which consisted of more than 140 artworks. Part I of this exhibition explored artworks from 1855 to 1969, while Part II examined works from 1970 to the present.
Companion Publication
Yosemite: Art of an American Icon
Amy Scott, Editor
University of California Press (2006)
March 31, 2006–August 20, 2006
Organized by American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Throughout time, art and ceremony have connected us to the forces of nature and the animal powers that sustain us. No mere ornament, the jewelry arts of Native America are conduits to a beauty beyond ourselves and within ourselves. With more than 500 objects, including dazzling contemporary and historic Native American jewelry and artifacts, Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest celebrates thousands of years of culture and experience through this ancient and ever-changing mode of creative expression.
Companion Publication
Totems to Turquoise
By Kari Chalker
Harry N. Abrams (2004)
July 30, 2005–January 22, 2006
This exhibition featured original costumes, set designs, movie posters, and never-seen-before mini-documentaries revealing Leone’s love affair with Hollywood movies and his legacy to cinema around the world. Some of the pieces of cinema history on display included firearms used on location; costumes worn by Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and James Coburn; set and costume designs by production designer Carlo Simi; and rare Italian and international posters, among others. But, in addition to the experience of the “real thing,” the exhibition gave visitors substantive information about Sergio Leone’s life and career development as a major director of cinema.
Companion Publication
Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone
By Sir Christopher Frayling
Harry N. Abrams (2005)
June 12, 2005–October 8, 2006
Fur trading provided one important impetus for exploring and settling the American West, the area west of the Mississippi River. Although the fur trade took natural resources out of the American West for the sole monetary benefit of companies based in Europe, its most lasting impact was the transformation of the people of the West. At trading posts and in North American Indian villages, people from different cultures met and became more familiar with each other's cultures.
April 3, 2005–July 4, 2005
Organized by the National Cowboy and Western History Museum, Oklahoma City.
In 1932, Luis Ortega broke his arm in a horse corral. While in Santa Barbara seeing the doctor, he showed Western artist Ed Borein his braiding. The artist admired the quality of Ortega’s work and encouraged him to braid rawhide on a more artistic level. This encouragement from a respected member of Santa Barbara’s art community convinced Ortega to pursue a new goal in his braiding career—rawhide artist. During this period he started braiding with finer rawhide strands and may have been the first California braider to interweave colored strands into his hackamores, reins and quirts.
September 4, 2004–January 23, 2005
Located mainly in Wyoming but also spanning parts of Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone National Park is among the world’s best-known geological wonders. Seemingly a place apart from civilization, Yellowstone’s exotic appeal also has lured generations of artists. Through their work, Drawn to Yellowstone: Artists in America’s First National Park invited visitors to explore the park’s visual history, changing identity, and impact as a cultural phenomenon.
Companion publication
Drawn To Yellowstone: Artists in America’s First National Park
By Peter H. Hassrick
University of Washington Press (2002)
August 1, 2004–May 8, 2005
In Encounters: El Norte—The Spanish and Mexican North, the Autry brought together the collections of the Southwest Museum and the Autry, each contributing to the story of the Spanish and Mexican north. Native American artifacts from the Southwest enhanced this story of encounters, and the Southwest’s complementary collections of Hispanic material were also integrated into the gallery.
May 9, 2004–August 4, 2004
Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery.
George Catlin (1796—1872) journeyed west five times in the 1830s to paint the Plains Indians and their way of life. Convinced that westward expansion spelled certain disaster for native peoples, he viewed his Indian Gallery as a way "to rescue from oblivion their primitive looks and customs." Catlin was the first artist to record the Plains Indians in their own territories. But the more than 500 paintings in the Indian Gallery also revealed the fateful encounter of two different cultures in a frontier region undergoing dramatic transformation.
October 11, 2003–July 4, 2004
Organized by the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.
Glorious Treasures: 100 Years of Collecting by the Southwest Museum featured objects collected since the Southwest Society made its initial acquisitions in 1904. A variety of fine California baskets, Pueblo pots, and Navajo textiles were shown. A rare Nez Perce quill-wrapped horsehair shirt was displayed, as was a headdress that once belonged to White Swan (Crow), who was a scout for the U.S. Army at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Seldom-seen ceramics and clothing from the museum's Central and South American holdings were also included.
July 4, 2003–January 25, 2004
Organized by Bill Stern, Executive Director, Museum of California Design
“At the beginning of the 1930s, when the Depression devastated the American economy and ended the housing boom of the 1920s, some of the biggest California potteries, which had been making architectural and agricultural products—including roof tiles, glazed tiles, and animal feeders—began producing inexpensive pottery dinnerware. In their rush to design new shapes that would distinguish their products from their competitors’, each company adapted forms that had been made with other materials— stone, wood, metal—and forms that came from other cultures including Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican. The sometimes-witty results reveal the freethinking that would become a hallmark of California design.” –Bill Stern
Companion publication
California Pottery: From Missions to Modernism
By Bill Stern, Peter Brenner (Photographer)
Chronicle Books (2001)
March 29, 2003–June 15, 2003
Produced by the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Carl Rungius: Artist, Sportsman presented a comprehensive collection of works and artifacts of America's historic painter of big game and first career wildlife artist. This exhibition examined Rungius's contributions to American painting within the context of his life and times for a new understanding of this important but often overlooked artist. Stimulated by its bold landscapes and powerful animals, Rungius influenced popular attitudes toward the American West. As he helped define "wilderness" in cultural terms, Carl Rungius: Artist, Sportsman provides us with the opportunity to explore the changing role of wildlife and the environment in twentieth century America.
Companion Publication
Carl Rungius: Artist & Sportsman
By Carl Rungius
Warwick House Publishing (2002)
November 23, 2002–July 27, 2003
Produced in collaboration with the UCR/California Museum of Photography Riverside, CA. Support provided by the California Council for the Humanities.
This exhibition presented in visual forms the myths, realities, and artistry of the Southern California coastline. Few other places figure so largely in the public imagination. The mythology that health and happiness can be found at the ocean's edge, a myth that with intention and success drew industry wealth and populations from the East to the West, could be read across one hundred years of images. Ocean View told the story of a golden land, a place of "subtropical twilights and soft westerlies off the Pacific," of Waterman, Dogmen, and a girl named Gidget, of failed dreams and new beginnings, of destruction and ecology.
June 21, 2002–January 20, 2003
This exhibition explored the history and adventure of Jews in the American West, from early exploration along the Santa Fe Trail in the 1820s through decades of immigration and settlement in Western towns and cities. This exhibition emphasized the contributions of Jews who built their homes throughout the West. From homesteaders in utopian agricultural communities to the entrepreneurs who created one of America’s greatest exports, the film industry, these pioneers became leaders in business, culture, and community identity while contributing to the diversity of Western communities.
Companion Publication
Jewish Life in the American West: Perspectives on Migration, Settlement, and Community
Ava F. Kahn, Editor
Heyday (2004)
May 5, 2002–October 20, 2002
Organized by the Autry in cooperation with guest curators Montserrat Mata, Rocío Martínez, and Andrea Cabello; the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City; the Consulate General of Mexico; and the Federacion Mexicana de Charrería, A.C., with accompanying bilingual publication.
Charrería is a culture, tradition, sport, and art practiced in Mexico and the United States. A central component of charrería is the charreada. The charreada is a festive event that incorporates equestrian competitions and demonstrations, specific costumes and horse trappings, music, and food. Following Federación Mexicana de Charrería regulations, male participants called charros compete in roping and riding events and escaramuza teams of women execute daring feats and precision maneuvers while riding sidesaddle. This rich, ongoing tradition was explored through its distinctive works of art and costume in Art of the Charrería: A Mexican Tradition.
March 24, 2002–May 26, 2002
Organized by the University Art Gallery, California State University Dominguez Hills, in conjunction with Gardena High School/Los Angeles Unified School District, and made possible by a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, Los Angeles, California.
The story of the Gardena High School art collection is an enduring example of the power of art to rally a community and to shape people’s lives. Each year between 1919 and 1956, Gardena High School seniors collaborated to select and purchase contemporary art that they gifted to the school upon graduation. Thanks to their efforts, Gardena High School now possesses a museum-worthy collection of California Impressionist paintings, including works by some of the state’s most celebrated artists of the early twentieth century. CSU Dominguez Hills was responsible for restoring and organizing the collection for this exhibition after receiving a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation.
Companion Publication
Painted Light: California Impressionist Paintings from the Gardena High School/Los Angeles Unified School District Collection
By Jean Stern
California State University Dominguez Hills (1998)
October 30, 2001–February 27, 2002
Organized by the Taylor Museum at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
Mountain–Family–Spirit provided an overview of Ute history, culture, and art from the 17th to the 20th century. This comprehensive exhibition on the art and culture of the Ute Indians of Colorado was the result of six years of collaboration. A committee composed of members of the Southern Ute tribe, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and the Ute Mountain Ute tribe surveyed 2,000 documented artifacts throughout the country and chose nearly 200 historic and contemporary pieces to represent the Ute art form.
October 20, 2001–January 21, 2002
From buckskin and fringe to denim and rhinestones, a wide range of materials and styles has come to represent clothing of the American West. In viewing How the West Was Worn, visitors saw eighty-three examples of Western clothing and costume staged in four chronological galleries, from the 1820s to the present. How the West Was Worn traced the development of Western style from its nineteenth-century frontier roots to the haute couture of runways in New York and Paris.
Companion publication
How the West Was Worn
By Holly George Warren and James H. Nottage
Harry N. Abrams (2001)
October 16, 1999–January 30, 2000
The heroic figures of Western films played a major role in postwar Poland, acting as a symbol of freedom and strength during times of repression. Under the guise of entertainment, these film posters spread a subtle social commentary while escaping the domain of government censorship. This exhibition, which featured the largest collection of its kind outside of Poland, celebrated the significance of this golden age in Polish poster-making.
Companion Publication
Western Amerykański: Polish Poster Art and the Western
Kevin Mulroy, Editor
University of Washington Press (1999)
March 4, 2000–July 9, 2000
Produced by the Royal Armouries, Leeds, England.
Daring rescues, heroic battles, a runaway stagecoach, and the thundering hoofbeats of a buffalo herd -- these are all part of the greatest Western story the world has ever seen: Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Drawing on the holdings of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, and those of prominent American and British collectors, the exhibition was a major step forward in the interpretation of the colorful career of Col. William F. Cody – Buffalo Bill. Exhibits included an original 1867 Deadwood Stagecoach, bought by Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley's gold-plated single-shot rifle, and an elaborate silver service presented to Cody by the Royal family.
July 23, 2000–January 1, 2001
Based on the book of the same title by author Lisa See, On Gold Mountain explored four generations of a Chinese American family who originally immigrated to California in 1867 and whose members have lived and worked in Los Angeles from 1897 to the present. The backdrop for these family and community histories was an even bigger picture that illustrated national tragedies and triumphs, ranging from exclusionary laws in the nineteenth century to burgeoning suburban Chinatowns in the twentieth century. On Gold Mountain reveals how all immigrants to America are faced with similar challenges: choosing between the old world and the new, maintaining culture and language, and balancing long-practiced traditions with the demands of assimilation.
October 14, 2000–January 21, 2001
Produced by the Heard Museum, Phoenix.
Charles Garrett Wallace traded with the Zuni people of western New Mexico for over 50 years, establishing a symbiotic connection with the people that extended beyond business relations. During this time period, the Zuni people’s jewelry-making techniques and styles also proliferated, making Wallace’s collection an invaluable record of the history, culture, and artwork of the Zuni people. This exhibit featured more than 250 of the finest examples of Zuni and Navajo silverwork made between 1918 and 1958, as well as a selection of jewelry and carvings by contemporary artists.
February 24, 2001–June 10, 2001
Produced by the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC.
Out of the Mist was a unique exhibition detailing the culture and history of the Nuu-chah-nulth people through their own voice. This exhibition was the result of a three-year collaboration with the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, B.C. and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.
Companion Publication
Out of the Mist : Treasures of the Nuu-chah-nulth Chiefs
By Martha Black
Royal British Columbia Museum (1999)
June 24, 2001–September 30, 2001
Produced by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY.
Tracing John James Audubon’s final journey to the West, this exhibition displayed the stunning illustrations of the scientist and artist along with original documents, letters, and major works of art from Audubon’s contemporaries.
October 18, 1997–January 25, 1998
This exhibition utilized the development of the sewing machine to trace the effects of industrialization, both positive and negative, on women in the West. The exhibition’s display of quilts through the ages also examined the elevation of quilting from an essential home practice to a form of artistry.
Companion Publication
Patterns of Progress: Quilts in the Machine Age
By Barbara Brackman
Autry (1998)
October 3, 1997–January 4, 1998
This exhibition traced the life of artist and author Will James, displaying his artworks alongside his famous literary works, such as the 1927 Newberry Award winner Smoky the Cowhorse.
February 14–April 19, 1998. Both exhibitions produced by the Heard Museum, Phoenix.
May 2, 1998–September 7, 1998
This exhibition commemorated the sesquicentennial of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the agreement that ended the Mexican-American war and transformed the idea of American identity in the West in a single stroke. Culture y Cultura was the first of four Autry exhibitions that examined the legacy of the war and its impact on Mexican American communities today.
Companion Publication
Culture y Cultura: Consequences of the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846-1848
By Iris Wilson Engstrand
Texas A&M University Press (1998)
September 19, 1998–January 24, 1999
Produced by the Oakland Museum of California.
Over 1,000 artifacts and artworks portray the history and impact of the California Gold Rush from 1848 to the present day. This exhibit gave visitors an idea of life during the Gold Rush in addition to displaying the magnificent objects and jewelry created from this precious and highly coveted metal.
February 20, 1999–May 16, 1999
Produced by Museums West.
This multimedia exhibition challenged visitors to understand Native American culture by understanding how they represent their own culture. In an effort to dispel stereotypes perpetuated by mass media, this exhibition displayed artifacts and artwork created by the Native Americans, ranging from sculptures and paintings to children’s toys.
Companion Publication
Powerful Images: Portrayals of Native Americans
By Sarah E. Boehme and Gerald T. Conaty
University of Washington Press (1998)
May 29, 1999–September 26, 1999
Produced by the Palm Springs Museum. Sponsored by the Automobile Club of Southern California.
This exhibition transported visitors through 80 years of time via a series of viewpoints in various California deserts. The original photographs drew from an advertising campaign from the Automobile Club of Southern California intended to lure tourists to the desert locales while their modern-day recreations revealed that much of the landscape was unchanged. This exhibition questioned the paradox that led to the preservation of these landscapes and sparked greater questions about the impact of urbanization overall.
June 26, 1999–September 26, 1999
Produced by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits Service, in association with the Guthrie Archive.
This exhibition spanned musician Woody Guthrie's life from his birth in 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma, to his move to New York City in 1940; it followed his extensive travels throughout the land up until his death in 1967, culminating reflectively on the lasting influence that his life and music has had upon American musical culture. For example, in the last section of the exhibition, the topic of a specially produced video presented Woody's continuing influence on songwriters today, featuring interviews with Billy Bragg, Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Ani DiFranco and Corey Harris.
October 13, 1995–January 28, 1996
Featured works from the early female artists of California including Mabel Alvarez, Kathryn Leighton, Elsie Palmer Payne and Donna Norine Schuster.
Companion Publication
Independent Spirits: Women Painters of the American West, 1890-1945
By Patricia Trenton
University of California Press/ Autry (1995)
February 17, 1996–May 12, 1996
Produced by the Oakland Museum, extensively supplemented by the Autry.
This interactive exhibit gave visitors the opportunity to try on replicas of Pacific Coast League uniforms, hear the radio broadcasts from a Pacific Coast League game, and gain a greater understanding of baseball and its cultural impact on America.
Companion Publication
Runs, Hits, and an Era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-58
By Paul J. Zingg and Mark D. Medeiros
University of Illinois Press (1994)
February 6, 1996–May 12, 1996
February 10, 1996–March 31, 1996
Produced by a private collection.
April 6, 1996–May 26, 1996
Working closely in collaboration with the Southwest Art Magazine, this exhibit celebrated the wide range of artists in the Western genre. Artists featured throughout the journal’s 26-year history were selected for display in this traveling exhibition.
September 14, 1996–December 1, 1996
Produced by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
This traveling exhibition was dedicated to the life and artistic legacy of famed painter and sculptor Frederic Remington, a figure who was also one of the most imitated artists in American history. The central theme of the exhibit was authenticity – how to determine the authenticity of an object, categorizing inauthentic objects, and how these two types of objects intersect and influence within the art world.
December 14, 1996–March 2, 1997
Companion Publication
Saddlemaker to the Stars: The Leather and Silver Art of Edward H. Bohlin
By James H. Nottage
University of Washington Press (1997)
December 14, 1996–March 2, 1997
This exhibition displayed the work of Evelyn Cameron, an Englishwoman who moved to Montana in 1894 and developed a passion for capturing its sweeping landscapes through photography.
March 22, 1997–June 1997
March 22, 1997–June 1997.
Produced by the Heard Museum, Phoenix.
Companion Publication
Glass Tapestry: Plateau Beaded Bags from the Elaine Horwitch Collection
By Barbara Loeb and Gloria M. Lomahaftwea
Heard Museum (1993)
March 29, 1997–May 11, 1997
Produced by American Indian Contemporary Arts in San Francisco.
An exhibit featuring 38 contemporary Native American artists and 87 objects including paintings, photography, sculpture, textiles and mixed-media work.
June 14, 1997–September 21, 1997
This exhibition focused on the history of five national parks in the United States: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Glacier. Through a combination of artifacts from these national parks and a 45-minute film presentation, the exhibition told the story of these parks as well as the struggles they faced in the present day.
October 16, 1993–January 9, 1994
Produced by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Sponsored in part by ARCO Foundation.
The artwork from this exhibition came from a group of American Indians imprisoned in Fort Marion after the Red River War, considered to be the last Indian war on the Southern Plains. Divided into five sections, the exhibition introduced visitors to the artwork of the Plains people, the series of events that occurred during the Red River War, a 3-D miniature reconstruction of Fort Marion, artist biographies, and finally the impact and legacy of these artists on contemporary Southern Plains art.
January 22, 1994–March 20, 1994
Collection of paintings and murals depicting the pioneers and frontiersmen of the “Old West.”
January 22, 1994–March 6, 1994
Displayed concurrently with the Hubbard Collection, this exhibit showed the work of vignette artist W. H. D. Koerner, who had a lifelong passion for illustrating stories of the West.
March 19, 1994–May 30, 1994
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service with supplementation by the Autry. Sponsored by Wells Fargo.
This exhibition utilized interview footage from 50 Japanese American women to establish the framework of the story – a three-generational narrative that introduced visitors to the immigrant women who sailed overseas to marry for citizenship; then to their daughters, subjected to the WWII internment camps despite their rights as Americans; and finally to the third generation of Japanese American women and their achievements.
April 2, 1994–June 5, 1994
Museum of New Mexico.
This exhibition displayed 70 works from Maynard Dixon, known for his paintings of the Southwestern landscape, as well as letters, poems, and personal items that told the story of the artist’s life.
Companion Publication
Desert Dreams: The Art of Maynard Dixon
By Donald J. Hagerty
Gibbs Smith (1993)
June 18, 1994–September 5, 1994
As the Autry’s first bilingual exhibit, The Mask of Zorro: Mexican Americans in Popular Media examined the stereotypical and often two-dimensional portrayal of Chicanos throughout American media history. The fitting image of the “Mask of Zorro” stood as a symbol of the blurred lines between fact and fiction, between the media’s story and the reality of life as a Mexican American.
Companion Publication
The Mask of Zorro: Mexican Americans in Popular Media
By Deena J., Luis Reyes, Raul H. Vila (Essays), and Gonzalez Valdez
Autry (1994)
September 17, 1994–November 27, 1994.
Drawing from the Gilcrease Museum collection, this exhibit showcased works from some of the masters of Western art, including Frederic Remington and Charles Russell.
December 10, 1994–February 12, 1995
This exhibition examined the social and cultural forces that produce the modern-day santos, or religious art, offering a glimpse into the lives of the santeros who make these objects as well as exploring the Spanish Market in Santa Fe, N.M. that pulls all the pieces together into one booming cultural business.
Companion Publication
Crafting Devotions: Tradition in Contemporary New Mexico Santos
By Laurie Beth Kalb
University of New Mexico Press (1995)
February 25, 1995–May 7, 1995
Produced by the Witte Museum of San Antonio
Through the display of over 400 artifacts, this exhibition documented the horse’s incredible impact on American history. Starting from its reintroduction to the Americas by Christopher Columbus, the horse has shaped history and society in remarkable ways.
July 25, 1995–September 10, 1995
Smith-Kramer, Chicago Historical Society
When Sears, Roebuck and Co. announced a $1000 prize quilting contest in the midst of the Depression, the resulting 27,000 quilt submissions set a record as the largest quilting contest in American history. In this exhibition, the Autry displayed 20 of these historic quilts alongside the personal stories of the women who worked with unfaltering determination to survive difficult times.
May 20, 1995–September 17, 1995
This exhibition assembled a collection of major Disney artifacts that told the story of the theme park that changed the West, from its influences in popular culture to its role as cultural icon of America and the West.
May 18, 1995–July 16, 1995
“The exhibition looked at the image-makers of the American West, and the many ways they manipulated and exploited the wealth of imagery that arose from the region. The visitor, like the contemporary consumer, saw a wide variety of image-heavy items, including rare illustrated books, photographs, maps, and visual paper ephemera in popular media such as promotional, advertising, and tourist-related materials.” – Marva Felchlin
October 18, 1991–January 5, 1992
Produced by the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum.
November 20, 1991–January 19, 1992
Dedicated to the life and work of George Montgomery, this exhibition was divided into sections representing various periods in Montgomery’s life and the work he created and collected during those times. The museum displayed 60 paintings, 30 sculptures, and 30 furniture pieces made or owned by Montgomery.
January 29, 1992–March 14, 1992
Produced by the Phoenix Art Museum and the Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame University.
March 24, 1992–May 31, 1992
Produced by the Museum of American Folk Art. Supplemented by the Autry.
June 13, 1992–September 27, 1992
Produced by the Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, and the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.
Though the influence of early Russian settlers is all but gone from California, their impact remains strong in Alaska and parts of Canada. This exhibition traced the history of Russians in the Western frontier and the religious and cultural legacies they left behind.
October 9, 1992–January 10, 1993
American Federation of Arts, Gilcrease Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
This exhibit displayed 60 watercolors from Alfred Jacob Miller, an artist known for his romantic and free-flowing depictions of the West.
January 23, 1993–March 28, 1993
This was the first Autry exhibition to focus solely on one contemporary artist, with a collection of bronze sculptures, pastels, paintings, drawings and serigraphs by George Carlson from the 1960s onwards.
Companion Publication
George Carlson: Dignity in Art
By George Carlson and James H. Nottage
Autry (1993)
April 11, 1993–May 31, 1993
Produced by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress with additions by the Autry.
This interactive exhibition traced the history of Italian Americans in the West, divided into three sections labeled "Family," "Work," and "Ties and Attachments." Interviews and video clips from an extensive study conducted by the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center were presented alongside photographs and family heirlooms.
June 12, 1993–September 9, 1993
Produced by Levinthal and the Autry.
Inspired by his 1950s childhood of cowboys and Westerns, David Levinthal designed and photographed a series of elaborate scenes featuring toy cowboys, Native Americans, and pioneer women. The 29 photographs are out-of-focus but simultaneously dynamic, creating the sense of action and excitement that is characteristic of Western films.
Companion Publication
The Wild West: Photographs by David Levinthal
By David Levinthal
Smithsonian Institute Press (1993)
June 12, 1993–October 3, 1993
Inspired by none other than museum founder and “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry himself, this exhibition presented various artifacts, photographs and old recordings from major Western singers as well as weekly live music events to bring the theme to life.
November 29, 1989–March 1, 1990
The iconic and mythical American West would not be complete without the Native Americans – yet the majority of images and artworks were created by non-native artists. This exhibition contrasted works of well-known Western artists with Native American artifacts, questioning the lens through which these artists saw Native American life and culture as well as the impact of their artwork on public perception and understanding.
March 16, 1990–May 22, 1990
Produced by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
This exhibition displayed the works of furniture-maker Thomas Molesworth, known for pioneering a uniquely Western look in the realm of furniture. Molesworth drew inspiration for his pieces from the South Fork area of the Shoshone River, creating various nature and landscape-inspired designs. Though his work achieved a level of fame, his name was neither widely recognized nor celebrated prior to this traveling exhibition.
Companion Publication
Interior West: The Craft & Style of Thomas Molesworth
By Wally Reber and Paul Fees
Buffalo Bill Historical Center/ Autry (1989)
June 17, 1990–September 9, 1990
Companion Publication
Stagecoach! The Romantic Western Vehicle
By James H. Nottage and Jim Wilke
Autry (1990)
October 21, 1990–February 24, 1991
Produced by the National Museum of Natural History and the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
In a landmark exhibition that brought together Soviet and North American scholars and scientists, Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska showcased almost 600 pieces of artwork and artifacts used by the people of the arctic region. The exhibition aimed to showcase the rich culture and history of the region – one that is seldom mentioned or taught in the history books.
Companion Publication
Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska
By William W. Fitzhugh and Aron Crowell
Smithsonian Institute Press (1988)
March 16, 1991–May 5, 1991
Smithsonian Institution.
A traveling exhibition containing more than 200 artifacts about the history and individuals of the U.S. Marshal Agency, established in 1789.
May 14, 1991–September 11, 1991
Gathering together film memorabilia and merchandise from Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd), Gene Autry, and the Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), this family-friendly exhibit discussed each famous Western actor’s career and life, from about 1930 to 1960.
September 21, 1991–November 11, 1991
Produced by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Artist John Clymer and his wife set out on a journey in the footsteps of 19th-century explorers and traders, traveling from the Mississippi to the Pacific Northwest. This trip, along with the research he conducted along the way of each area’s history and people, would later be the inspiration for the historically-detailed series of paintings displayed at the Autry.
November 1988–January 22, 1989
Produced by the Gerald Peters Gallery. This was the Autry’s inaugural exhibit.
Companion Publication
The West Explored: The Gerald Peters Collection of Western American Art
By Julie Schimmel and James H. Nottage (Preface)
Gerald Peters Gallery (1988)
January 31, 1989–March 26, 1989
Produced by The Anschutz Collection.
Companion Publication
Masterpieces of the American West: Selections from the Anschutz Collection
By Elizabeth Cunningham
University of Nebraska Press (1987)
April 6, 1989–June 6, 1989
Produced by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, with extensive supplementation by the Autry.
June 14, 1989–November 19, 1989
Produced by the Autry, utilizing the collections of the California Historical Society.
This exhibition celebrated the miners who first came to the Golden State in search of the precious metal that would make their fortunes. The collection of paintings also offered a comprehensive look at California’s history, from the people to the landscape itself, during this time of discovery and constant migration.
Companion Publication
El Dorado: Paintings of the Golden State
By James H. Nottage
Autry (1989)
The Autry Museum of the American West acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). We recognize that the Autry Museum and its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Gabrielino/Tongva peoples and we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462
Located northeast of downtown, across from the Los Angeles Zoo.
Map and Directions
Free parking for Autry visitors.
MUSEUM AND STORE HOURS
Tuesday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
DINING
Food Trucks are available on select days, contact us for details at 323.495.4252.
The cafe is temporarily closed until further notice.