The Bowers Museum first opened its doors in 1936 as a city-run museum devoted to the history of Orange County. In the mid-1980s, the city of Santa Ana closed the Museum, with the understanding that it would reopen after a careful study and input from the community. The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art opened in 1992, six times the size of the original museum, a brand new institution geared toward serving the community of Santa Ana.

The mission of the Museum is to foster education and learning by presenting exhibitions which examine the art of cultures across the world. The Museum aims to present audiences with a sense of the diversity of the larger world as a way to understand their own personal culture, and themselves.

Since its highly successful reopening, the Museum has hosted several travelling exhibitions from around the world, in addition to establishing a permanent collection and attracting a strong membership. The collection is dedicated to examining and comparing the highly diverse cultures of the world throughout time. The collection includes 83,000 objects, including pre-Columbian artifacts, Native American art and artifacts, Africa and Oceanic art, and California plein air paintings.

The William and Alberta McCloskey Collection

Of the seventy known McColskey paintings in existence, forty belong to the permanent collection of the Bowers Museum. This husband and wife team of artists created realistic still lifes and penetrating portraits in a style which was so similar that they sometimes worked on the same painting. William McCloskey was, at one time, one of the most respected American artists working in Paris. His wife received less recognition during her lifetime, but this important archive has helped to educate modern audiences about these lesser known American artists.

Native American Art

The Bowers Museum own a strong collection of ceramics, textiles, wood and stone sculpture, bead work and basketry by several different tribes of Native Americans. The collection spans years and miles to assemble a comprehensive look at the many ways in which the native peoples of this land placed artistic expression at the center of their lives.

California Legacies

The Bowers Museum Collection contains a number of artifacts illustrating the rich history of the people who originally settled the West and Orange County. The collection contains maps, weapons, and artifacts of early European settlers, as well as artifacts from the groups which later settled the region.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM, closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day

Admission: $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $4 for children aged 5-12, free to members and children under 5

Location: The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art is located at 2002 North Main Street in downtown Santa Ana.
For tickets/information, call: 714-567-3600
Hours to call: 24-hour information line
The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art accepts MasterCard, Visa and cash as admission payment.
Visit their Web site at: http://www.bowers.org