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Past Exhibitions
May 18 through August 12, 2007
Colt (detail), Single Action Army Revolver. Colt Industries, Tiffany & Co., and Leonard Francolini. 90.183.8 Museum of the American West.
When Samuel Colt received U.S. Patent no. 138 for his "repeating pistols" in 1836, he embarked on not only a remarkable commercial endeavor but developed the
extraordinary artistic field of firearms decoration. Masterfully embellished weapons solicit powerful reactions as artistic forms clash with martial purpose.
This exhibition explores the diversity of American firearm decoration since the mid-19th century represented by a selection of dazzling, yet dangerous, handguns
from the Autry National Center's permanent collection.
March 30 to May 27, 2007
In an effort to bring the vibrant history of California to a wider audience, the California Historical Society and the Autry National Center have joined forces to display in
Los Angeles significant works of art and costumes by some of America's most prestigious 19th-and early 20th-century artists.
More than 60 paintings by such artists as Albert Bierstadt, James Walker, and Maynard Dixon, and turn-of-the-19th century costumes
will travel from the Society in San Francisco to the Autry. The collection will be conserved, displayed, and inaugurated in its very own
California Historical Society Gallery, after this temporary exhibition opening in March 2007.
November 10, 2006 through April 22, 2007
The power of art-to shape the way we see, use, and protect Western lands-is
the focus of the exhibition Yosemite: Art of an American
Icon and its accompanying publication of the same title.
From an ideal of wilderness to the complex and often congested
experience of the park today, this exhibition explores Yosemite's
changing visual identity and cultural role as a national
destination. By giving us a broader look at Yosemite as
a complex, multifaceted landscape rich in aesthetic and
human diversity, this exhibition aims to reveal this course
and more.
Travel Schedule
Oakland Museum of Art
May 19 - September 2, 2007
Nevada Museum of Art
October 13, 2007 - January 13, 2008
Eiteljorg Museum of the American Indians and Western Art:
March 22 - August 9, 2008
March 31 to August 20, 2006
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 of 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.
February 4 to March 5, 2006
Photo: Tony Bailey
Over the past seven years, the Autry National Center's annual Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale has developed into one of the country's most important art shows, giving nationally recognized, contemporary Western artists the opportunity to exhibit their best works and meet with collectors.
July 30 2005 to January 22, 2006
Photo: Tom Yi
Through the films A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; and Once Upon a Time in the West, Italian director Sergio Leone (1929–1989) created a new style of Western. Described as a truly original and unique filmmaker, Leone’s Westerns feature extreme close-ups; soundtracks by Ennio Morricone with whistling and electric guitar; witty dialogue such as “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk!” (Eli Wallach in a bathtub scene as Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, 1966); and character names such as “Blondie” and “Angel Eyes” (Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, respectively, in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).
This spectacular museum exhibition featured original costumes, set designs, movie posters, and never-before-seen mini-documentaries revealing Leone’s love affair with Hollywood movies and his legacy to cinema around the world. Some of the remarkable pieces of cinema history on display included the iconic poncho used by Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name; costumes worn by Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, and James Coburn; firearms used on location; set and costume designs by production designer Carlo Simi; rare Italian and international posters; plus a few more surprises!
April 3 to July 4, 2005
Art and function intertwine gracefully in the work of Luis Ortega. Many of the best California horsemen of the 20th century have used his braided reins and hackamores, marveling at his ability to create horse equipment with just the right flexibility and weight. A fifth-generation Californian, Ortega reigned for half a century as America's most respected rawhide braider, famous for his intricate and colorful work. We can admire the meticulous braiding of Ortega on its own merit, but to understand the braider we must gain an appreciation of his life-long quest to uphold the proud Spanish traditions of his legendary California family. This exhibition is a tribute to Luis and Rose Ortega, honoring their accomplishments and their legacy among horsemen throughout the West. (En Espanol)
August 1, 2004 to May 8, 2005
Encounters: El Norte—The Spanish and Mexican North is the first exhibition in a three-part series of exhibitions specifically designed to gather visitor input and comments in order to inform a permanent installation at the Museum of the American West. This exhibition tells of the long history of the Spanish in the West. Spanish explorers wandered Texas and New Mexico just fifty years after Columbus first sailed across the Atlantic, and for two centuries they were the only European settlers in what is now the western United States.
February 5 to March 6, 2005
Over the past seven years, the Autry National Center's annual Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale has developed into one of the country's most important art shows, giving nationally recognized, contemporary Western artists the opportunity to exhibit their best works and meet with collectors.
September 4, 2004 to January 23, 2005
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 invites you to explore the park’s visual history, changing identity, and impact as a cultural phenomenon.
May 9 to August 4, 2004
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. He admired them as the embodiment of the Enlightenment ideal of "natural man," living in harmony with nature. But the more than 500 paintings in the Indian Gallery also reveal the fateful encounter of two different cultures in a frontier region undergoing dramatic transformation.
October 11, 2003 to July 4, 2004
Glorious Treasures highlighting portions of the Southwest Museum collection, premiered in the Showcase Gallery on October 11, 2003. The exhibition 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.
February 7, 2004 to March 7, 2004
Over the past seven years, the Autry National Center's annual Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale has developed into one of the country's most important art shows, giving nationally recognized, contemporary Western artists the opportunity to exhibit their best works and meet with collectors.
July 4, 2003 to January 25, 2004
An unprecedented exhibition drawn from forty-seven California collections, documents a significant aspect of the Golden State's contribution to American design. Its displays of aesthetically and historically significant tableware, gardenware, and tiles were produced by forty-four of the more than 600 commercial potteries that flourished here between 1900 and 1955.
Ocean View: The Depiction of Southern California Coastal Lifestyle
November 23, 2002 to July 27, 2003
Ocean View: The Depiction of Southern California Coastal Lifestyle presents in visual form 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, can be read across one hundred years of images. Drawing from the work of Dr. John "Doc" Ball, Tom Blake, Robert Johnson, Leroy Grannis, and Don James, among others, Ocean View documents the development of surfing as both a healthy activity and a newfound entertainment. Exhibition developed by University of California, Riverside, Museum of Photography.
Carl Rungius: Artist Sportsman
March 29, 2003 to June 15, 2003
Organized by the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, the exhibition combines more than one hundred paintings from their unrivaled collection of works by Rungius with historic artifacts from his adventurous life, offering a unique glimpse into one of America's premier wildlife artists of the early twentieth century. With topics ranging from impressionist painting to wildlife conservation.
June 21, 2002 to January 20, 2003
The Autry presents an original exhibition which explores 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. Jewish Life in the American West concludes with the Immigration Act of 1924 that effectively curtailed the influx of European Jewry. The exhibition emphasizes 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.
May 5, 2002 to September 29, 2002
CharrerÌa is a culture, tradition, sport, and art practiced in Mexico and the United States. A central component of charrerÌa is the charreada. The charreada is a festive event that incorporates equestrian competitions and demonstrations, specific costumes and horse trappings, music, and food.
Following FederaciÛn Mexicana de CharrerÌa 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 will be explored through its distinctive works of art and costume in Art of the CharrerÌa: A Mexican Tradition, an exhibition organized by the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in cooperation with the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City, the Consulate General of Mexico, and FederaciÛn Mexicana de CharrerÌa, A.C.
Mountain-Family-Spirit: The Arts and Culture of the Ute Indians
October 30, 2001 to February 7, 2002
The first comprehensive exhibition on the art and culture of the Ute Indians of Colorado is on view at the Autry Museum in the Showcase Gallery from October 30, 2001 through February 27, 2002. This exhibit is the result of a six-year 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 to 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. Distinctive Western dress not only sets the region apart from other areas of the country but “dressing Western” also symbolizes American values and attitudes around the world. Primary among these values is the idea of “rugged individualism,” associated with American character.
On Gold Mountain
July 1, 2000 to January 1, 2001
Chinese immigrants have come to America seeking a good life for their families for over 150 years. Chinese Americans have created a lasting legacy in the United States. Many Chinese first came during the California Gold Rush. San Francisco was known as Gum Saan – "Gold Mountain" – a place of freedom and prosperity. "Gold Mountain Travelers" were part of an exodus from Southeast China. Before 1900, economic problems at home and job opportunities abroad caused about 2.5 million people to leave China. More than 322,000 Chinese came to the United States between 1850 and 1882.
Women of the West
Women of the American West led the nation and the world into the struggle for female voting rights, known as the “suffrage movement.” This remarkable suffrage success story began in 1869, when Wyoming Territory approved full and equal suffrage for scarcely one thousand women. Contagious excitement for women’s rights spread quickly across the Rocky Mountain landscape. “This Shall be the Land for Women!” cheered western journalist Caroline Nichols Churchill upon Colorado's stunning victory by popular vote in 1893. Organized by the Women of the West Museum.
The first version of this exhibit, Drawn Together: Women Make Art in the American West, was produced by the Women of the West Museum with support from Xcel Energy Foundation. The table top exhibit, configured as a large, elegant, canvas book, premiered at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, in Boulder, Colorado. The exhibit subsequently toured Colorado, presented at the Durango Arts Center, the Loveland Museum and Art Gallery, and the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center (Pueblo). Organized by the Women of the West Museum.
This exhibit was a part of a larger public program that took place from January through September 2000 at 16 Market Street, in downtown Denver, Colorado. Across from a central bus station, along a busy corridor in an area known as LoDo, or Lower Downtown, a 250 foot long mural introduced passers-by to some of the many women who have contributed to Colorado history. Organized by the Women of the West Museum.
There are No Renters Here – Homesteading in a Sod House. In 1862, The United States government passed the Homestead Act, which opened up much of the West for settlement by U.S. Citizens. Land taken from American Indians – by means of war, treaties, and trading – was declared “public domain.” Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, The Homestead Act of 1862 made it possible for many people to own land for the first time in their lives. Organized by the Women of the West Museum.
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