The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will unveil a new suite of American Indian galleries honoring the artistic achievement of Native peoples from across North America. With more than 6,100 square feet, the galleries will be among the largest devoted to American Indian art in any comprehensive art museum in the world and will quadruple the amount of space previously devoted to American Indian art at the Nelson-Atkins. Gaylord Torrence, the Fred and Virginia Merrill Curator of American Indian Art, says many museums may have larger collections, but here the collection has works of the highest quality or masterworks.

The galleries will showcase nearly 200 works of American Indian art, including a number of recognized masterworks. While the cultural and historical significance of objects is acknowledged within the presentation, the primary focus of the installation is artistic quality, in contrast to displaying works as cultural artifacts or historical relics of past civilizations. Grouped by eight main culture areas of North America, the new installation will include masterworks from many cultures from pre-European contact to the present: Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Plateau, California and the adjacent Great Basin, Northwest Coast and Arctic. Navajo textiles, Woodlands and Plains quillwork, beadwork and sculpture, Pueblo pottery, Southwestern jewelry, Northwest Coast sculpture and California and Plateau basketry are among the artistic traditions represented in the Museum’s collection.

The new galleries are adjacent to the museum’s reinstalled American galleries, which opened in April. This orientation represents a bold philosophical shift at the Nelson-Atkins, defining the art of Native peoples as an essential part of the nation’s heritage. Torrence says the shift is to look at a piece as art and then see the piece as a gateway to the various cultures. So often, the Native American art is combined with the African and Oceanic art, but the new suites will allow the importance of Native people’s art to shine through, Torrence says.  

“It is our intent with these new galleries to represent American Indian art as an important part of America’s cultural legacy,” says Marc F. Wilson, the Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell Director/CEO at the museum. “Together, the reinstalled American galleries and the new American Indian galleries will provide visitors with an uninterrupted, contiguous look at the achievements of American artists from pre-European contact to the present, something rarely if ever done by an encyclopedic fine arts museum.

Torrence, who arrived at the Nelson-Atkins in 2001 as founding curator of the museum’s first Department of American Indian Art, is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost authorities in the field. His task is to build the collection, plan and aid in the execution of the installation, and add more contemporary artists to the collection. He has written two books, “The American Indian Parfleche: A Tradition of Abstract Painting” and “Art of the Red Earth People: The Mesquakie of Iowa” with Robert Hobbs.

“The Nelson-Atkins is strongly committed to the recognition of American Indian art, and we are equally committed to exhibiting the work of contemporary artists in addition to those of earlier periods,” Wilson says. “We believe these new galleries will place the Nelson-Atkins in the forefront of America’s general art museums exhibiting in the field.”

“It is our goal in this new installation to present the extraordinary vision of Native American artists, from many cultures and throughout time,” Torrence says. “These objects communicate the creative expression of their individual makers; at the same time, they reflect the profound cultural traditions that underlie the meaning and power embodied within each work. It is an exhibit that will honor Native people and their artistic brilliance.”

Torrence says the art of indigenous people is utilitarian and expressive. Pieces are functional and function as a work of art, which is a step from the European ideals of art such as painting and sculpture. Now, crafts like ceramics and weaving are seen as viable art forms. “The pieces are also works of personal expression. They communicate an idea such as a woman’s identity or religion and are all objects of beauty. As an example, we have a painted shield. There is a buffalo, the spirit helper of the warrior, on the shield. It would be comparable to a painting in a church, a Russian icon or a statue of Buddha as its importance to the spiritual nature of the piece. There’s a blending of art, purpose and function.” The shield is a personal favorite for Torrence.

“These are works of the highest quality. For those visiting our city, our collection will be worth the trip. Those who are Kansas City residents, there will be a need to return often. We have masterworks to share with the world,” he says. “I can say that with the expansion and renovation of the American and the Native American galleries, plus the work at the Bloch Building, it is pretty much a new museum.”

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