The Palm Springs Art Museum is located in an architecturally-significant E. Stewart Williams-designed building just off Palm Canyon Drive in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, California. This 83,000-square-feet structure is the centerpiece of the Museum's 125,000-square-foot complex.
The Museum's permanent exhibits include Modern and Contemporary American works, Classic Western American Art, collections of Native American and Mesoamerican Art as well as an extensive collection of American Photography, all housed in spacious galleries. Stimulating lectures and educational programs for all ages, and diverse performances are offered in the 433-seat Annenberg Theater.
I arrived on a weekday, just as the Museum opened at 10 AM and was able to find a parking place right across the street. Inside, after paying my $12.50 admission fee, a delightful elder volunteer provided me with a 5-minute orientation of the Museum, its galleries and exhibits.
The Museum's Photography collection includes photos by William (Bill) Anderson (1923-1971) who was acclaimed as Palm Springs’ “Photographer-of-the-Stars.” He became the primary celebrity photographer for the Racquet Club and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce from 1950 to 1971. Kirk and Anne Douglas, William Powell and Marilyn Monroe, and Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood are just some of the stars captured by his lens during this glamorous period.
In the American Western Art collection there is a George Montgomery collection, which includes "Custer's Final Moments: A Two-Part Sculpture," 1975-76, as well as photographs of the actor/artist with fine furniture pieces that he created. Other highlights of the American Western Art collection include the 1904 painting, "Roping A Prairie Wolf" by Charles Marion Russell, and Grace Carpenter Hudson's 1903 painting, "Da-No Ke-Ya (of the Moutain People)". The American Indian Art gallery features beautiful examples of traditional crafts such as the basket made of natural and dyed juncus and sumac on a deer grass foundation by Guadalupe Arenas, 1910, as well as pieces created by artists unknown, such as the "Acoma Pueblo Polychrome Jar" circa 1900 and the "Two Western Apache Storage Baskets" made of willow, devil's claw and yucca root, date unknown.
A variety of programs are offered on a year-round basis that include children's workshops, a docent council, community outreach, films, concerts, symphonies, opera and drama. Adult workshops include sculpture design, printmaking, collage, mixed media, figurative painting, life drawing, photography, digital photography, assemblage, paper making, watercolor, acrylic, pastels and oils. The Museum also hosts "Free Community Evenings" featuring Docent-led spotlight tours, plus playwright's readings, family activities and poetry nights.
Museum History
This elegant fine art museum first opened its doors in 1938, the same year the city of Palm Springs was incorporated. The Museum was founded by Don Admiral, a college administrator with a geology degree and a flair for promotion and development. Admiral conducted local classes and tours and opened the Museum in the La Plaza Arcade to share his interest in natural history with the community.
Admiral actualized a dream shared by two earlier Palm Springs naturalist/residents. It began in 1916 when California naturalist Edmund Jaguar started a Nature Club from among the town's 70 residents. Sixteen years later, in 1932, Theodore Zschokke became naturalist-in-residence at Deep Well Guest Ranch and created a Nature Trail that included various plant and animal exhibits.
Admiral's 1938 museum opened to a rocky start. For the next 20 years, through a series of directors, it operated on a shoestring, but continued to grow, with sporadic contributions from the growing population.
In 1952, Philip Boyd, a local rancher and Museum trustee, together with Dr. Edmund Jaeger and Desert Magazine publisher Randall Henderson, succeeded in convincing the Museum board to establish a wildlife sanctuary by leasing acreage in the Palm Desert at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains.
During the 50s and 60s, the Palm Springs Desert Museum began rapid growth, expanding its focus to include performing and fine arts. By 1963, the population of Palm Springs had grown to 117,000, and there were 80,000 visitors a year to the Museum.
The trend toward the fine and performing arts continued, with considerable influence from Hollywood, which discovered, vacationed and began to retire in Palm Springs. Finally, the current facility financed, built, and opened in 1976 with 4,000 people in attendance.
In the meantime, the Wildlife Sanctuary in Palm Desert separated and became an independent entity. In 1972, it incorporated as The Living Desert with Boyd at its head, assuming much of the original charter of the Palm Springs Desert Museum, now the Palm Springs Art Museum.
I concluded my visit to the Museum with a tour of the two outdoor sculpture gardens on the lower level. Back inside, I consulted the Box Office for upcoming performances and promised myself I would return some evening for an event in the Annenberg Theater.
Hours and Fees:
The Art Museum is open six days a week: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free to members; $12.50 for adults; $10.50 for seniors 62 and over; $5.00 for children 6 to 17, students, and active-duty military with I.D.; and free to children under 6. For more information, call 760.325.7186 or visit online at psmuseum.org.
Accommodations:
There are lots of resorts, hotels and motels in Palm Springs click here for more information.
The Palm Springs Art Museum
101 Museum Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92263
760-325-7186
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