The Tucson Desert Art Museum's mission is to display art and artifacts of the Desert Southwest, and educate our guests about the history, cultures and art of the region. At the core of the Museum is one of the Southwest’s premier collections of Navajo and Hopi pre-1940s textiles, including displays of chief’s blankets, Navajo saddle blankets, optical art textiles and Yei weavings. The Museum also has a diverse range of historical artifacts, classic and contemporary Southwestern paintings, including works by Maynard Dixon, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, Gerald Cassidy, Ed Mell, Ray Roberts, Peter Nisbet, Howard Post and other great artists of the Southwest. Special highlights of the museum include exhibits on Navajo sand painting, and early armaments of the Southwest and artifacts from the Mesoamerican period. The Museum also maintains rotating special exhibits, which change out each year. Nowhere else will the visitor find such an eclectic array of southwestern art and artifacts. Our motto is “visualize history through art.” We invite our guests to immerse themselves in history through our beautiful art!
