Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is an art museum located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1989, the museum houses an extensive collection of visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas alongside Western American paintings and sculptures assembled by businessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg (1903-1997). The institution is widely recognized for holding one of the finest collections of Native contemporary art in the world, and it plays a significant role in preserving, exhibiting, and advancing understanding of both historical and contemporary Native American artistic production.

The museum was established in 1989, emerging from Harrison Eiteljorg's personal commitment to collecting art that reflected the cultures and histories of Native American peoples and the American West. Eiteljorg, a businessman and philanthropist, built the core of the collection that would form the institution's foundation. In June 2005, the museum completed an extensive expansion that doubled its public space. This expansion added three new galleries, the Sky City Café, an education center, outdoor gardens, and event space. Two of the new galleries were dedicated to the museum's contemporary art collection, while the third became the Gund Gallery of Western Art, housing a 57-piece collection of traditional Western art donated by the George Gund Family. In 2021, a six-person panel of American Institute of Architects (AIA) Indianapolis members identified the museum among the ten most architecturally significant buildings completed in the city since World War II.

The Eiteljorg's holdings encompass two principal areas: visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas and Western American paintings and sculptures. The museum's Native American collections span from the nineteenth century to the present and include works by artists from numerous tribes and nations, including Cheyenne, Crow, Salish, Hupa, Kiowa, Lakota, Navajo, Nez Perce, Paiute, Potawatomi, Sioux, and Ute. A dedicated section addresses the arctic and subarctic peoples of Canada and Alaska, including Inupiaq, Tlingit, and Nootka. The Western art collection includes significant paintings and bronzes, with particular strength in works depicting the American West. The museum has made a deliberate and celebrated commitment to contemporary Native art, building what is regarded as one of the world's foremost collections in this field.

The Gund Gallery holds a notable collection of paintings and bronzes by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, two of the most prominent sculptors and painters of the American West. The museum also owns paintings by George Winter, Thomas Hill, Albert Bierstadt, Charles King, and Olaf Seltzer. A significant grouping of works by New Mexico-associated painters includes Joseph Henry Sharp, William Victor Higgins, Ernest L. Blumenschein's 'Penitentes,' John French Sloan, and Georgia O'Keeffe's 'Taos Pueblo.' The contemporary collection features works by T. C. Cannon, Kay WalkingStick, and Andy Warhol, among many others. The 2005 expansion brought the Gund Gallery of Western Art and its 57-piece traditional Western art donation into the museum's permanent display spaces.

The museum is situated in Indianapolis's White River State Park, a cultural precinct that also includes the Indiana State Museum, the Indianapolis Zoo, White River Gardens, the NCAA Hall of Champions, Victory Field, and Military Park. The building itself has been recognized for its architectural distinction: in 2021, it was named among the ten most architecturally significant buildings completed in Indianapolis since World War II by a panel of American Institute of Architects Indianapolis members. The museum offers free parking to visitors in the park's underground parking garage. The 2005 expansion added outdoor gardens and event space to complement the existing facilities.

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, within White River State Park. Visitors have access to free parking in the park's underground parking garage. The museum maintains an active public role through its exhibition program, educational initiatives, and the Sky City Café, which offers southwestern-style food. The institution's website is http://www.eiteljorg.org/. Beyond exhibitions, the museum sustains its mission through the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship, awarded biennially to recognize innovative and influential contemporary Native artists. This program, formerly known as the Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, has supported a wide range of artists working across media including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, performance, and new media.