2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA
Phone: 714-567 3600 - Tty: -
Statement of Purpose
The Bowers Museum believes that learning about people through their arts will lead us to a greater understanding of ourselves as well as a fuller appreciation of the marvelous diversity of the human family.
The Bowers Museum celebrates this diversity by preserving
and presenting the arts of world cultures.
Permanent collections feature Pre Columbian, Native American, Oceanic, Asian and African art as well as historic artifacts of old California and paintings by American masters.
Adjacent to the main Museum is the Bowers Kidseum, the only interactive cultural arts museum for children. A hands-on
facility for children and their families, permanent exhibits include masks, musical instruments, puppets from around
the world, an ethnic dress-up area and a Native American room. Included with admission is an art lab, face painting
and storytelling (weekends only). Please call 714-480-1520 for a weekly updated schedule.
Cultural arts of the Americas, Pacific rim, and Africa. Late 19th century and early 20th century California decorative arts and paintings. Orange County history.
Pre Columbian, Native American, African, Oceanic &
Pacific Islander, and Asian. Also featuring a major collection of paintings by
William and Alberta Binford McClosky and a collection of artifacts of the
history of Southern California.
* Partners in Illusion: William and Alberta McClosky
These strikingly realistic still lifes and
penetrating portraits trace the relationship of the two turn-of-the-century
painters. of the 70 McClosky paintings known to exist, 40 are part of the
Bowers permanent collection.
* Realms of the Ancestors: Arts of Oceania
Enter worlds where dreams are more real than waking,
worlds where spirits of the dead are encouraged to stay among the living and
worlds populated by mariners who voyaged in open outrigger canoes across
thousands of miles of ocean guided by ancient knowledge of the stars, the wind
and the waves.
*Power and Creation: Africa Beyond the Nile
Africa, the birthplace of humankind, is home to some
of the world's most powerful and meaningful art. The traditional works in this
exhibition represent specific, important information: how to be a productive
member of society, how children become mature adults, how the world and all
that is in it came to be.
* Arts of Native America
The names of many Native American tribes translate
simply as "the People". This exhibition -- of ceramics and textiles from the
Southwest, wood and stone sculpture from the Arctic and the Northwest, bead
work from the Plains and California basketry -- demonstrate that "the People",
everywhere and in every way, placed artistic expression at the center of their
lives.
* Vision of the Shaman, Song of the Priest
The study and display of pre Columbian art from
Mexico, Central and South America has been at the heart of the Bowers for many
years. A series of galleries communicates the power and sophistication of the
mysterious culture that rose and fell in ancient America.
*California Legacies This series of exhibits illustrates
the rich, colorful and diverse history of the people who settled the West and
Orange County:
Hall of Exploration -- artifacts of first European
explorers; Missions and Ranchos Gallery -- prominent pioneers portray romantic
and tumultuous times; Asian