California Pairing
LACMA and the Autry Museum of the American West join forces for new partnership.
On January 9, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Autry
Museum of the American West announced an unprecedented new partnership that will allow both museums to expand their programming content by sharing their respective collections. The two museums will also undertake joint programs and exhibitions, as well as publications.
The announcement was made during a discussion about the evolving and collaborative approach for museums in the 21st century, presented by LACMA director and CEO Michael Govan and Autry Museum president and CEO W. Richard West Jr. The two Los Angeles-based museums will now be able to extensively explore the art of the American West, both past and present, in photography, paintings, sculpture and other holdings, including ceramics, weavings and more from cultures that include the American Southwest, Mexico and Latin America.
“The partnership with the Autry Museum is an exciting opportunity for two Los Angeles institutions to combine efforts in telling a broader view of art history through our permanent collections and programming.
The idea is to treat our collections as one, and for our curators to work together accordingly,” says Govan. “This exchange of works and ideas will allow both museums to bolster exhibition content especially in the areas of the historical and contemporary American West, and the exploration of indigenous cultures across the Americas. We also look forward to learning from the Autry’s management of a new state-of-the-art collections, research and educational facility anticipated to open to the public next year.”
West added, “Gone is the era when museums could stand alone, separate and apart from each other. Los Angeles is increasingly making a mark for itself both on the strength of its cultural institutions, as well as the degree to which these institutions foster sharing and collaboration,” he says. “Our partnership, we believe, is an important evolutionary step in that progression. More immediately, I know the Autry and the Autry community will be tremendously enriched and enlivened by way of this deepened association with LACMA.”
Both museums are known for their rich affiliation with Western art, particularly the Autry Museum, which was founded by Western actor
Gene Autry in 1988 and today hosts the annual Masters of the American West Art Exhibition and Sale. LACMA is one of the largest museums in the western United States and has works that expand well past Western art, including contemporary and modern art, Asian art, Greek and Roman art, and decorative art, to name a few.