A free exhibition of whimsical animal sculptures by Tim Cherry opens Saturday at the Eiteljorg Museum in downtown Indianapolis, kicking off a fall season that culminates next month in the museum's biggest annual fundraiser. The Canadian-born sculptor, who lives in Branson, Missouri, has been named this year's Artist of Distinction for the museum's Quest for the West Art Show and Sale, now entering its 21st year.
Cherry earned that distinction after winning the Artist of Distinction Award at the 2025 Quest for the West show for his bronze sculpture Danger from Above, according to the Eiteljorg Museum. His solo retrospective runs through September 27 in the museum's Ruth Lilly Community Art Gallery, with free admission for the duration, per Visit Indiana. As reported by WISH-TV, the exhibition will remain on view through the fall and features sculptures that combine abstract shapes with animal imagery.
Cherry draws inspiration from his work as a wildlife outfitter, and he studies with taxidermists as part of his creative process, WISH-TV reports. Eiteljorg curator Laura Fry told the station that Cherry creates whimsical animal sculptures, and that this year's broader show is expanding into artists taking the concept of Western art in innovative ways.
Free First Friday Kicks Off the Season
Ahead of the Cherry exhibition's public run, the museum is hosting its final free First Friday of the summer this Friday, September 4, from 3 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and includes art activities and music, according to WISH-TV's report.
The Cherry show and First Friday lead into the main event: Quest for the West's invitation-only gala opening weekend, running September 11 to September 12, where registered guests can purchase artwork. The broader public exhibition then continues through mid-October, with any unsold pieces remaining available for purchase during that window, per the same report.
A Show With Deep Roots and Growing Sales
This year's Quest for the West features 50 artists from across the country, including 10 new participants, with some artists having contributed work to all 21 shows since the event's founding. Fry told WISH-TV that Quest for the West is the only show of its kind east of the Mississippi. That claim tracks with reporting from Western Art & Architecture, which notes the Eiteljorg is one of only two major institutions focused on Western American and Native American art situated east of the Mississippi River, alongside the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
The artwork on offer ranges widely, from realistic wildlife and landscape paintings to pop-culture-inspired pieces and even acrylic saddles finished in neon colors, WISH-TV reports. Proceeds from sales benefit participating artists as well as the museum itself. Since its debut in September 2006, the annual show has generated more than $20 million in cumulative art sales for artists and the museum combined, according to the Eiteljorg Museum.
Coming Off a Record-Breaking Year
Momentum is on the museum's side heading into this year's sale. The 20th annual Quest for the West event last September set a single-year sales record of $1.325 million, selling 113 pieces in the main sale and another 42 during its Friday evening miniature sale, according to Great Lakes By Design. The event uses a fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sale process for registered collectors during the gala weekend.
The show operates under the leadership of Kathryn Haigh, who took office as the Eiteljorg's President and CEO in May 2023, becoming the first woman to lead the museum following the retirement of longtime CEO John Vanausdall, per the Eiteljorg Museum. Haigh previously held leadership roles at Newfields and the Cincinnati Art Museum before joining the institution.
A Pueblo Revival Landmark in White River State Park
The Eiteljorg opened on June 24, 1989, in White River State Park to showcase the private Western art and Native American artifact collection of local coal executive Harrison Eiteljorg, according to the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Eiteljorg developed his passion for Western art during coal exploration trips to New Mexico and Colorado beginning in the 1940s.
The museum's building, designed in a Southwestern Pueblo revival style inspired by Anasazi architecture, expanded in 2005 to 100,000 square feet, adding direct access to the Central Canal and the surrounding park grounds. Its exterior features Minnesota dolomite and German sandstone, according to Architect Magazine. In June 2022, the museum completed a $6 million redesign of its second-floor Native American galleries, shifting the permanent display toward the themes of Relation, Continuation, and Innovation, per the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Planning a Visit
Regular daily admission to the Eiteljorg in 2026 runs $20 for adults, $16 for seniors 65 and over, and $12 for youth ages 5 through 17, with children under 5 admitted free, according to Visit Indiana. The Tim Cherry exhibition itself carries no separate admission fee and is free and open to the public throughout its run in the Ruth Lilly Community Art Gallery.
Guests interested in the gala opening weekend events for Quest for the West can register ahead of the September 11-12 dates. For Indianapolis art lovers without an invitation to the gala, the free First Friday and the Cherry retrospective offer an early look at what the museum specializes in: Native American art and the art of the American West.
