The Autry Museum of the American West (Autry National Center) is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family events, and music, and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. It attracts about 150,000 visitors annually.[1]
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| Former name | Autry National Center |
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| Established | 2003 |
| Location | 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°08′55″N 118°16′53″W / 34.1487°N 118.2813°W |
| Type | Western and American Indian |
| Presidents | Stephen Aron, President and CEO |
| Website | www |
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In 2013, it extensively redesigned and renovated the Irene Helen Jones Parks Gallery of Art and the Gamble Firearms Gallery in its main building. In its related opening exhibit for the Parks Gallery, Art of the West, the new organization enabled material to be presented in relation to themes rather than chronology, and paintings were shown next to crafts, photography, video and other elements in new relationships.[1]
Locations
editThe Autry Museum of the American West has two sites, about 8 miles (13 km) apart:
- Griffith Park – 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, California, 90027
- Resources Center – 210 South Victory Blvd, Burbank, California 91502 (Storage facility with a ritual space for indigenous people to use items in the collection in ceremonies)[2]
History
editThe Autry was established in 1988 by actor and businessman Gene Autry as "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum," dedicated to exploring and sharing the comprehensive story of the American West and its multiple cultures, as well as further interpreting the West's significance.[3] Its Griffith Park collection includes 21,000 paintings, sculptures, costumes, textiles, firearms, tools, toys, musical instruments, and other objects.[4] The museum contains contemporary and historical exhibitions, year-round programs for children, intellectual forums, and the Native Voices at the Autry performing arts series.
In 2003, the Autry acquired the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.[2]*[5]
In 2010, the Autry Museum received the International Gay Rodeo Association archives, thereby becoming the leading repository of gay rodeo items.[6]
The museum is located in Griffith Park directly across from the Los Angeles Zoo. The 4,000-square foot Parks Gallery was renovated in 2013 and has been organized into three theme areas: Religion and Ritual, Land and Landscape, Migration and Movement. The main location also contains two mini galleries with revolving exhibits.[1]
The Gamble Firearms Gallery also was renovated in 2013. It now shows more of the context and place of firearms in the Old West; curators grouped firearms by themes: "hunting and trapping, the impact of technology on firearms, the conservation movement and the West in popular culture."[1] The Firearms Gallery is part of the larger Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact and Fiction Gallery.[1]
From 2004 to 2015, it was known as the Autry National Center of the American West. However, in October 2015, the museum began using the name "Autry Museum of the American West" to emphasize its "principal activities as a museum."[7]
Since 2019, the Autry Museum has hosted several of Indigenous Pride LA LGBT+ Pride events.[8]
The museum's founding director was Joanne Hale, who served from the museum's founding in 1988 until her retirement in 1998. Under her leadership, the museum went from concept to a 148,000 square foot building with seven galleries and 45,000 piece collection. Under her tenure, more than 50 special exhibitions were presented and the museum received accredidation from the American Association of Museums.[9] John Gray was President and CEO from 1999 to 2012 and led the museum through its expansion into the Autry National Center and the mergers with the Southwest Museum of American Indian and the Women of the West Museums.[10] W. Richard West Jr. was President and CEO from 2012 to 2021. He is Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian and was previously the founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Under his leadership, the Autry did more Native-led interpretation and engaged in a more complex understanding of Western History.[11] Since 2021, UCLA historian Stephen Aron has been the President and CEO. Previously, he led the Autry Institute's Institute for the Study of the American West.[12]
Collection
editThe Autry's Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection of Native American art is one of the most significant collections dedicated to Native culture in the United States, second only to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian. The 238,000-piece collection includes 14,000 baskets, 10,000 ceramic items, 6,300 textiles and weavings, and more than 1,100 pieces of jewelry. It represents work by indigenous peoples from Alaska to South America, with an emphasis on cultures of California and the Southwestern United States.[4]
The Library and Archives of the Autry includes the collections of the Braun Research Library and the Autry Library. It is a research enterprise that supports scholarly work in Western history and the arts.[4] In 2002, the Women of the West Museum of Colorado merged with the Autry Museum. This has broadened the scholarly and educational emphasis to include gender issues and women's experiences in the American West.[13]
Programs
editSince 1995, Native Voices at the Autry has been the only existing equity theater solely focused on producing new works by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nation playwrights.[14] Randy Reinholz, a member of Oklahoma's Choctaw Nation, and his wife Jean Bruce Scott have run the program for 20 years. Native Voices has produced over 34 full productions, gone on over 20 tours, with 23 new play festivals and 13 Native playwrights.[15] This program is a crucial part of the Autry's mission to promote art history and cultures of the American West.[14]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 Brenda Rees (October 3, 2013). "Galleries of Change". Pasadena Weekly. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- 1 2 Miranda, Carolina A (November 17, 2022). "How L.A.'s Autry Museum is changing the ways Indigenous artifacts are held". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ↑ Edward Rothstein (September 22, 2013). "A Museum Works to Reinvent Itself, as Well as the American West". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Museums for America" (PDF). Institute of Museum and Library Services. October 1, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ↑ Vankin, Deborah (November 16, 2022). "L.A.'s Autry Museum spent 18 years moving 400,000 Native objects. That's just the start". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ↑ "The Autry Museum of the American West Presents That Damn Horse: The Stories of Gay Rodeo, a Performance that Brings Oral Histories to Life". October 12, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ↑ "What Is the Autry?". Autry Museum. May 27, 2016. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ↑ "Archives". Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ↑ "John L.Gray: New Executive Director at Autry Museum of Western Heritage". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. originally published in Resource Library Magazine. 1999. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "John Gray, Former President of Autry National Center of the American West, Named Director of National Museum of American History". Smithsonian. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ Rothstein, Edward (September 22, 2013). "A Museum Works to Reinvent Itself, as Well as the American West". New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ Vankin, Deborah (September 8, 2020). "The Autry Museum's CEO is retiring. A UCLA historian will take over". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Women of the West Museum merges with Autry Museum". Denver Business Journal. March 8, 2002. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- 1 2 Gelt, Jessica (March 27, 2017). "NEA helps the Autry Museum provide a rare platform for Native American Playwrights". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ↑ Weinert-Kendt, Rob (March 20, 2018). "Raising Native Voices, Then Amplifying Them. American Theater". Retrieved May 14, 2019.
Further reading
edit- "Your guide to Gene Autry, America's Favorite Singing Cowboy", pamphlet from the Autry Museum of the American West
- "Pocket guide: Explore the past, present, & future of the American West", pamphlet from the Autry Museum of the American West
