With more than 10 million curated items, this museum on the University of New Mexico campus offers a large collection regarding human history and culture. The museum houses two permanent exhibits. "Ancestors" showcases the four million year history of the evolution of humankind. "People of the Southwest" is an in-depth record of 11,000 years of Southwestern culture. Other dynamic exhibits and a lecture series offer interpretations of man's history across the globe.
It is believed that the University Art Museum has the biggest compilation of fine art works in the state. Established in 1963, the museum has about 30,000 items including photographs, prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other works of contemporary art. Art works by Jerome Bowers Peterson, Beaumont Newhall, Theodore J. Labhard, Clinton and Mary Adams, and Raymond Jonson are housed in the museum. Located at the University of New Mexico, the museum is a haven for art lovers.
Since its inception in 1967, the Albuquerque Museum has been a hub for historical and artistic treasures. Located in the Old Town area, the museum has a huge collection of artifacts and relics from as far as 400 years. Visitors can gain a deeper insight in the city's history and culture. New Mexico's art, Albuquerque's history, and Southwest culture, come together at this museum. Live performances take place at the museum's amphitheater quite often. For the little ones, there are educational programs. The museum also takes you through a guided tour of the 18th Century Casa San Ysidro, a spectacular old house.
Housed in the first public school building in Albuquerque (1881) this co-op gallery in Old Town is an outlet for some exceptional local talent. Joy Easton creates watercolors of almost touchable terrain. Mary Madsen uses oil and watercolor to take Southwestern scenery a step beyond the usual. It is well worth a visit to Yucca Art Gallery, just to view the colorful stoneware of Pat Stolgren or the oil miniatures of New Mexico's ancient churches by George Hight.
This gallery represents a co-operative of local artists that has been in existence since 1980. With such a wide range of talent from which to draw, the gallery is an eclectic mixture of traditional abstract and representational art. Choicest pieces of fine art share space with jewelry, pottery, sculpture, wood carvings, stained glass, weavings, baskets and photography. The gallery space is inside a renovated house that creates intimate, individual rooms.