Agua Caliente Cultural Museum to host Native American art exhibit

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs is launching a new exhibition titled ‘A Beauty That Endures: Native Painting, Ceremony and Resilience in the 20th Century’. Opening this Saturday, the exhibit features more than 50 paintings from artists representing over a dozen tribal nations.

Curated by Tony Abeyta (Diné/Navajo), the collection examines Native American art history during the first half of the 20th century. This era was characterized by significant social and political shifts, including federal assimilation policies, boarding schools, Christian missions, and relocation. The artworks, provided by the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, demonstrate how Indigenous artists navigated modern life while remaining rooted in their ceremonial, philosophical, and aesthetic traditions.

The exhibition presents easel painting as an expansion of long-standing Indigenous practices such as pottery, weaving, and hide painting. Featured artists include Acee Blue Eagle, Frank Day, Allan Houser, Jack Hokeah, Oscar Howe, and others. The exhibit is scheduled to run through May 30, 2027.