Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum
Overview
The Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum strives to foster a thirst for knowledge and appreciation of the value of historic and cultural arts and artifacts, as well as the natural world, through the eyes of our founding collectors.Contact Information
303 Lowe StreetValdez, Alaska 99686
United States
Description
The Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum contains one of the largest collections of Native Alaskan art and artifacts in the world. The Whitney's came to Alaska in 1947, and Maxine traveled to Native villages throughout the territory, buying items directly from the artists to sell in her gift shop. In 1969, Maxine assumed ownership of the Eskimo Museum in Fairbanks, and continued her collecting until the mid-1980s. The collection was donated by Ms. Whitney to Prince William Sound Community College in 1998. The artifacts were housed in a lovely climate- controlled facility at the Valdez Airport for ten years, and now find a permanent home in our new state-of-the-art museum, adjacent to the college. Since opening in May 2008, the professionally designed exhibits have garnered much attention from locals and visitors alike.