Karen S. Kim
GRIFFITH PARK -- The Autry Museum of Western Heritage will have more
of a woman's influence starting next month when its merger with the Women
of the West Museum, based in Boulder, Colo., goes into effect.
"We're very excited about it," said Evelyn Davis, spokeswoman for the
Autry Museum. "Patrons will see the important role that women played,
what they did and what they continue to do in the larger context, on the
American West and these different communities."
The Women of the West Museum, founded in 1991, is not housed in a
building but reaches its patrons through a Web site and traveling
exhibits and programs, Davis said. The two museums' Web sites will now be
linked, and the Autry Museum will help support the traveling programs as
a result of the merger, Davis said.
The merger also spurs the creation of the Autry Museum's first endowed
curatorial position, a new Curator of Western Women's History. Each
museum will contribute $1 million to pay for the cost of the position,
Davis said.
The new curator will be chosen by a search committee comprised of
representatives from both museums. In addition, four members of the Women
of the West Museum board -- Tish Winsor, Jane Butcher, Joyce Thurmer and
Jerrie Hurd -- will now join the Autry's Board of Trustees.
"What we are gaining from them is the depth of understanding and
information that they have," Davis said. "Museums are educational
bodies."
The Autry Museum of Western Heritage is at 4700 Western Heritage Way
in Griffith Park.
