Hammer Museum

Specialties

The Hammer Museum is a cutting-edge arts institution presenting world class exhibitions of art, architecture and design that span the classic to the contemporary. The Hammer offers a diverse selection of free public programs, including film screenings, performances, readings, and lectures;  an open-air courtyard and café, and one of the best bookstores in the city.

History

Established in 1990.

Founded by Dr. Armand Hammer, former Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center was designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and built adjacent to the Corporation's headquarters in Westwood, CA. The Museum featured Dr. Hammer's collections -- old master paintings and drawings, and a collection of works by Honore Daumier and his contemporaries. Dr. Hammer died three weeks after the opening.  

In 1994, the University of California, Los Angeles, assumed operations of the Museum and relocated collections from the Wight Art Gallery and Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts to the Hammer. The Hammer also assumed management of the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden. Henry Hopkins, then director of the Wight Gallery, became director of the Museum until his retirement in 1998. In 1999, Ann Philbin was named director.

Today, the Museum's exhibitions present contemporary and historical work in all media of the visual arts.