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Los Angeles & Southern California
Museums
and Art Center Links
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The Autry National Center celebrates the American West through
three important institutions: the Museum of the American West, the Southwest
Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for the Sutyd of the American
West. The Autry was established in
2003 following the merger of the Southwest Museum, the Women of the West Museum,
and the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western
Heritage). The Autry National Center explores the distinct stories and
interactions of cultures and peoples, and their impact on the complex, evolving
history of the American West. Bergamot Station
Arts Center Bergamot Station is Southern California's largest art gallery complex and cultural center, located on eight acres in the heart of Santa Monica featuring contemporary art galleries, The Santa Monica Museum of Art, architecture and design firms, a cafe, and a frame shop.
One of Southern California's finest museums and Orange
County's largest, the Bowers Museum is one of the only museums in the United
States devoted to promoting human understanding through art. Its state of the
art special exhibition and collection storage facilities enable the Bowers to
present world class exhibitions and preserve collections of cultural art for
future generations. International partnerships have been developed with the
Palace Museum, Beijing, the British Museum, and many others. Its location, close
to four major freeways and four miles south of Disneyland, makes the Bowers an
ideal destination for visitors to Southern California. CAFAM (Craft & Folk Art Museum) The Getty Center presents the Getty's
collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop
of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views. 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades (see Visit the Getty)
The Huntington The Huntington is a research and educational
center set amidst 120 acres of breathtaking gardens. Three art galleries and a
library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, rare books,
manuscripts, and decorative arts. The botanical collection features over 14,000
different species of plants. A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington
was founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate developer Henry Edwards
Huntington and opened to the public in 1928.
LACMA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Explore a collection of more than 100,000 works of art at LACMA, the largest encyclopedic museum west of Chicago. Through its far-reaching collections, the museum is both a resource to and a reflection of the many cultural communities and heritages in Southern California. Experience European masterpieces, cutting-edge contemporary art, an extensive collection of American art from the United States and Latin America, a major Islamic art collection, one of the most comprehensive Korean art collections outside of Korea, and the stunning Pavilion for Japanese art.
Founded in 1979, MOCA is the only museum in
Los Angeles devoted exclusively to contemporary art. It is committed to the
collection, presentation, and interpretation of work produced since 1940 in all
media, and to preserving that work for future generations. In a remarkably short
time, MOCA has developed one of the nation's most renowned permanent
collections. Now numbering over 5,000 works and steadily growing, this
invaluable cultural resource provides extensive opportunities for education and
enjoyment to thousands of national and international visitors. Today the museum
is housed in three unique facilities: MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary
at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center. Museum
of Jurassic Technology A small, singular and strange institution that
challenges our notions about museums, science and knowledge. Science fiction
author Philip K. Dick would have loved the place, as do many staffers of places
like the Getty and LACMA. From their website: "...The public museum as
understood today, is a collection of specimens and other objects of interest to
the scholar, the man of science as well as the more casual visitor, arranged and
displayed in accordance with the scientific method. In its original sense, the
term "museum" meant a spot dedicated to the muses - "a place where man's mind
could attain a mood of aloofness above everyday affairs." MOLAA:
Museum
of Latin American Art The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
in Long Beach, California was founded by Dr. Robert Gumbiner in November 1996.
It is the only museum in the western United States that exclusively features
contemporary Latin American art. Through the utilization of its permanent
collection, traveling exhibitions, and programs,
MOLAA educates a diverse Southern
California audience about contemporary Latin American art.
Museum of Tolerance & Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time. The Center’s multifaceted mission generates changes through the Snider Social Action Institute and education by confronting antisemitism, hate and terrorism, promoting human rights and dignity, standing with Israel, defending the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. The Museum of Tolerance, the Center’s educational arm, founded in 1993 challenges visitors to confront bigotry and racism, and to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is a crown jewel of Los Angeles' museums. A national leader in exhibitions, education and research, the Museum was L.A.'s first cultural institution to open its doors to the public in 1913. It is the largest natural and historical museum in the Western United States, safe guarding more than 33 million spectacular, diverse specimens and artifacts.
The Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena holds one of the
world's finest and most prestigious collections of art. Reflecting the
extraordinary effort and vision of its founder, it stands as a tribute to Human
Civilizations, the visual arts, and the nobility of individual accomplishment.
The permanent collections consist of Western and Asian art from a period
spanning more than 2,000 years. European and American masterpieces including
paintings, sculpture, works on paper and photography are complemented by
stunning art works from India and Southeast Asia. The Museum holds an extensive
print collection, which includes rare etchings by Rembrandt and Goya as well as
a comprehensive collection of Picasso graphics. Pacific Asia Museum The Pacific Asia Museum's permanent
collection contains more than 14,000 rare and representative examples of art and
artifacts from Asia and the Pacific Islands, spanning a period of 5,000 years. Page Museum At The La Brea Tar
Pits The Page Museum is located at the Rancho La
Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles. Rancho La Brea is one of the world’s
most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most
diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. Visitors
can learn about Los Angeles as it was between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago,
during the last Ice Age, when animals such as saber-toothed cats and mammoths
roamed the Los Angeles Basin. Through windows at the Page Museum Laboratory,
visitors can watch bones being cleaned and repaired. Outside the Museum, in
Hancock Park, life-size replicas of several extinct mammals are featured. Santa Monica Museum Of Art The Santa Monica Museum of Art offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy stimulating contemporary arts exhibitions and programming (current exhibitions) for all ages. The museum is part of Bergamot Station, a historic train station transformed into a dynamic and lively arts complex unique in Los Angeles. Bergamot Station houses 33 galleries, 10 shops, and a cafe.
The Skirball Cultural Center has established itself as one of the world's most dynamic Jewish cultural institutions, and among the most prominent cultural venues in the United States. Its mission is to explore the connections between four thousand years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It seeks to welcome and inspire people of every ethnic and cultural identity in American life. Guided by our respective memories and experiences, together we aim to build a society in which all of us can feel at home. The Skirball features an extraordinary museum, changing exhibitions, engaging music, theater, comedy, film, family, and literary programs, Zeidler's Café, and Audrey's Museum store, and a new interactive family destination inspired by the Noah's Ark story—all in a stunning architectural setting designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie.
An ethnology-based art institution, The Fowler
Museum explores art and material culture primarily from Africa, Asia and the
Pacific, and the Americas, past and present. The Fowler seeks to enhance
understanding and appreciation of the diverse peoples, cultures, and religions
of the world through highly contextualized interpretive exhibitions,
publications, and public programming, informed by interdisciplinary approaches
and the perspectives of the cultures represented.
The Hammer Museum The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture
Center (AHMACC) opened to the public in November 1990. Founded by Dr. Armand
Hammer, former Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the Museum was
designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Today, the Museum’s exhibitions
present contemporary and historical work in all media of the visual arts.
Through its exhibitions, the Museum is committed to promoting cultural
understanding, to introducing the work of underrepresented artists, and to
interpreting art of the past and present. William S. Hart Ranch And
Museum A Member of the Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County, William S. Hart Park is less than an
hour's drive from most areas of Los Angeles. It is the former home and ranch of
William S. Hart, silent film cowboy star and director. The Museum sits atop a
hill within a large park area. The Spanish colonial Revival style mansion
contains original furnishings, an impressive collection of western art, mementos
of early Hollywood and Native American artifacts. |
Also See:
Free Museum Days
(Museums In Los Angeles & Southern California)
Guides To Museums & Galleries
In Los Angeles And Southern California
More:
Los Angeles Guide Books