Fowler Museum at UCLA facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fowler Museum at UCLA

Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Established	1963
Location	308 Charles E. Young Drive Los Angeles, CA 90024 United States
Type	Art museum, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

The Fowler Museum at UCLA, often called The Fowler, is a museum on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It shows art and cultural items mainly from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas. You can see both old and new pieces there.

The Fowler usually has several art exhibitions at once. It also hosts talks about different cultures, musical shows, art workshops, and fun family events. The museum is in the northern part of UCLA's Westwood Campus, right next to Royce Hall. The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture manages the museum.

The Fowler Museum's Story

The museum started in 1963. It was first called the Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology. Franklin D. Murphy, who was the UCLA Chancellor then, created it. Its first home was in the basement of Haines Hall on the UCLA campus. The main idea was to bring together all the non-Western art and artifacts from around the campus. The museum also began its own research, fieldwork, and exhibitions.

In 1971, its name changed to the Museum of Cultural History. By 1975, its collections were so good and large that it became one of the top university museums in the country. It still holds that high rank today.

In 1981, UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young and museum director Christopher B. Donnan planned a new building. This new building would better show off the museum's amazing collection. The new building cost $22 million. It was designed by architects Arnold C. Savrann and John Carl Warnecke. Money for the building came from private gifts and state funds.

The large new building opened on September 30, 1992. It was named the Fowler Museum of Cultural History. This name honored the Fowler Foundation and the family of Francis E. Fowler Jr. He was a collector and inventor. In 1996, Doran H. Ross became the museum's director. In 2006, the museum's name officially changed to the Fowler Museum at UCLA.

In 2024, the museum returned several items to Ghana. These items had been taken by British forces from the Ashanti Empire in the 1800s. The returned items included an elephant tail whisk, an ornamental chair, gold ornaments, and jewelry.

Exploring the Collections

The Fowler Museum has over 120,000 art and cultural objects. It also has 600,000 archaeological items. These pieces show ancient, traditional, and modern cultures from Africa, Native and Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific.

Most of the Fowler's items have been given as gifts by people. A huge gift came from Sir Henry Wellcome in 1965. His collection of 30,000 objects forms the main part of the museum's African and Pacific holdings. The museum also has more than 15,000 textiles. These show the history of cloth over 2,000 years from five different continents.

The Fowler Family Silver Collection includes 400 silver works. These pieces are from 16th to 19th-century Europe and the United States. Some famous artists like Paul de Lamerie and Paul Revere made pieces in this collection. In 1969, Hollywood actress Natalie Wood gave the museum a collection of ancient Mexican ceramics.

In 2013, the Fowler Museum received many gifts for its 50th anniversary. One gift was worth about $14 million. It came from collector Jay Last and his wife, Deborah. This gift included 92 wood and ivory objects from the Lega people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Many of the museum's items were collected directly from their original locations. This means they come with important information about their history and use. The museum is also collecting more items from Latin America. This helps meet the interests of Los Angeles's growing Latin American population. In 1997, the Daniel Family donated over 900 Mexican works. These include ceramic Trees of Life, Day of the Dead figurines, and masks.

Current Exhibitions

• Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives
• Reflecting Culture: The Francis E. Fowler, Jr. Collection of Silver
• Plus several changing exhibitions
• Continental Rifts: Contemporary Time-based Works of Africa, 2009

Selected Collection Highlights

• 

  Chief's Mask, Haida people, British Columbia, 19th century

• 

  Buddha, Sagaing, Burma, 17th century

• 

  Mask (tsesah), Bamileke people, Bamendjo, Cameroon, Late 19th century

• 

  Headdress, Efut peoples, Calabar, Nigeria, 19th century

• 

  Hornbill figure, Iban, Borneo, 19th century

• 

  Portrait vessel, Moche style, north coast Peru,100–800 C.E.

• 

  Ornament for a sacred flute, Mundugumor people, Yuat River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, 19th century

• 

  Power figure (nkisi nkondi), Yombe peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18th–19th century

• 

  Ceramic, Magdalene Odundo (Kenya, b. 1950)

• 

  Hand puppet, the Blind Scholar, Chinese, Taiwan, Early–mid-20th century

• 

  Santo, Virgin of the Rosary, Guatemala, Early 20th century

• 

  Mask (amiilk), Tsimshian peoples, British Columbia, Canada, 19th century

Museum Directors

• Christopher B. Donnan (1981–1996)
• Doran H. Ross (1996–2001)
• Marla C. Berns (2001–present)

In 2007, Marla Berns's position received a special gift of $1 million. This gift came from Shirley and Ralph Shapiro. It recognized her great work for UCLA and the community. In 2013, Berns received a special award from France. It was called the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. The award ceremony happened in Paris. It was at the opening of an exhibition called Secrets d'ivoire. This exhibition showed the Fowler Museum's collection of African artwork. These pieces were from the Lega people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were donated to the Fowler by collectors Jay T. and Deborah R. Last.

Images for kids

• 

  Fowler Museum Plan by Savrann

• 

  Fowler Museum under Construction