CALIFORNIA CONTINUED, The Autry Museum by Carol Kaufman Segal

            The Autry Museum of the American West, located at 4700 Western Heritage Way in Los Angeles, was founded in 1988.  Hopefully, you have had the opportunity of visiting the museum.   If so, I recommend that you pay a visit there again, and if not, you owe it to yourself to visit this unique museum in order to take in the wonderful renovations that have been made to the premises.

            On October 9th of this year, the Museum opened nearly 20,000 square feet of redesigned indoor and outdoor spaces with new temporary and permanent galleries, a magnificent ethno botanical teaching garden and a most engrossing media projection room.  You will want to spend a long time perusing the exhibitions and the unusual garden where you will see more than 60 native California plants and learn about the traditional and contemporary uses of them.

            The Life and Work of Mabel McKay is a temporary exhibition featuring a Native American woman’s life and work.  Mabel McKay (1907-1993) kept her traditional ways and was a master basket weaver as well as a traditional healer.  She advocated for her community and environment and was a teacher who shared her knowledge of Pomo traditions.  Be amazed by the many baskets from extremely tiny to enormous sizes, unusual shapes, and altogether, an amazing display.

            Next to the garden you can rest and be inspired as you take in the California Road Trip room.  You will see California’s scenic and varied landscapes from extreme desert climate (Death Valley) to the lowest point in North America, the magnificent ocean bluffs of Big Sur, the tallest trees in the world (California Redwoods), the unusual granite “pictures” and high elevation of Mt. Whitney, the highest summit in the adjoining states of our picturesque country (14,505 feet!).

            The Autry Museum’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant of Native American materials in the United States

            W. Richard West, Jr. President and CEO of the Museum said “As with our Native forebears, our relationship to the land is informed by art, cultures, and science.  These new exhibitions celebrate our interconnectedness with the environment using the lessons of the past to better understand our present and guide us in our shared future.”

            The Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM, closed Mondays.  For further information, visit TheAutry.org.