75 Years 75 Artworks: Selections from the Permanent Collection

In 1967, the board voted to officially add fine art as a museum collecting focus. After that decision, Olga and trustee Joseph Hirshhorn donated the first modern art acquisition, a 1966 untitled gouache on paper by Alexander Calder. This established the fine art collection and many other art donations followed. In 2005, Palm Springs Desert Museum adopted a new name—Palm Springs Art Museum—to reflect its exclusive focus on fine art with a multidisciplinary performing arts program.

Published on the occasion of the museum’s 75th anniversary in 2013, this major publication documents 75 major art works from the more than 12,000 in the permanent collection. These objects are concentrated in areas of Architecture and Design, Art of the Western Americas, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography, and Studio Glass, and the publication includes examples of each from the museum’s rich holdings.