Despite the wealth of art inside the Vincent Price Art Museum, the institution remains a bit of a secret among Angelenos. You might be forgiven for thinking this is a collection of movie posters and costumes related to the actor best known for his horror films. It's not. Price wasn't just an art lover; he also was a proponent of arts education, and in the 1950s, he and wife Mary Grant donated a considerable amount of art from their personal collection to East Los Angeles College. That gift launched what has become a treasure chest tucked inside the Monterey Park community college. Today, the Vincent Price Art Museum has swelled to a seven-gallery complex, hosting an eclectic mix of shows that bridge art's past to its future. Price's interest in pre-Columbian art became the basis for the museum's permanent exhibition, “Form and Function in the Ancient Americas,” which focuses on artifacts from western Mexico and Peru.

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