Our Story
The Eiteljorg is much more than a traditional art museum with pretty pictures and impressive sculptures
The Eiteljorg tells the stories of the peoples of North America in all their diversity and complexity. It’s a place for historical context, artistic expression, new ideas and individual perspectives. Here, visitors immerse themselves in the diverse cultures of the West and Native America, and sharing these amazing American stories is what we do at the Eiteljorg.
A Little Bit About The Eiteljorg
The Eiteljorg has been telling amazing stories for three decades.
How the Eiteljorg was Founded: Indianapolis businessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg and other civic leaders founded the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. From the museum’s opening in 1989, its mission has been to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the art, history, and cultures of the American West and the Indigenous peoples of North America. The museum carries out this focus in exciting and often surprising ways.
The Art: The Eiteljorg collects, conserves and exhibits outstanding Western art and Native American art and cultural objects. The museum’s collection includes artists such as T.C. Cannon, N. C. Wyeth, Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe, Allan Houser, Frederic Remington, Charles Russell and Kay WalkingStick. The institution’s contemporary Native American art collection has been ranked among the best in the world.
What Sets Us Apart: The Eiteljorg Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Midwest, and one of only two museums east of the Mississippi that explore both Native America and the American West. Renowned programs such as the Indian Market and Festival, Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship and the Quest for the West® Art Show and Sale have helped the museum cultivate a national reputation as a premiere cultural institution.
