The founding of a natural history museum at the university—then an institution only a decade old, known as Nevada Southern University—began with a collection of specimens from the
Desert Research Institute (DRI), the
Nevada System of Higher Education's graduate
research institute. In September 1967, the DRI opened a small museum facility in premises across from the university's grounds, as part of an expansion of DRI's activities into southern Nevada. The museum was created under the direction of archaeologist
Richard H. Brooks, assistant research professor at the university and a researcher (later director) of the DRI-affiliated Nevada Archaeological Survey. Its exhibits consisted of DRI's local collection of living desert animal specimens and Native American artifacts. In 1969 the university took over the management of the museum from DRI. Brooks remained as director of the university-affiliated museum, and during his tenure, the museum's funding was established and further permanent exhibits acquired. The most significant acquisition occurred in 1979, when a private collection of
pre-Columbian art was donated by a former UNLV
alumna, Mannetta Braunstein, and her husband Michael. These pieces would form the basis of a broadening collection of Mesoamerican and
Aridoamerican cultural artifacts, acquired through other donations and further additions from the Braunsteins' purchases in Latin American markets. In the late 1970s, the museum began the process of relocating to premises situated on the UNLV campus, to occupy a building that had contained the university's original gymnasium. Renovations to accommodate the museum were completed in 1981. Further alterations and expansions to the building were subsequently undertaken, and a research laboratory wing was added in 1994. Brooks left the position in 1981. Baepler was instrumental in establishing UNLV's Harry Reid Environmental Research Center, and the museum was reorganized to become one of the center's operating divisions. Baepler retired as museum director in 2004, retained a title as
emeritus executive director of the museum. In 1989 the museum was renamed in honor of
Marjorie Barrick, a longstanding benefactor of the university. In 1980 Barrick, a prominent
philanthropist married to a Las Vegas real estate developer, had gifted UNLV with an endowment of some $1.2 million from her late husband's estate, to fund an ongoing series of public lectures at the university. Speakers at the Barrick Lecture Series have included international figures and heads of state, such as
Jimmy Carter,
Gerald Ford,
Mikhail Gorbachev and
F. W. de Klerk. In 2011, the Barrick closed its doors to undergo a change of hands with departments. The museum ceased to be affiliated with the Harry Reid Center and Department of Archaeology and became a part of the College of Fine Arts at UNLV. It reopened in 2012 as a contemporary art museum after undergoing drastic renovations, from its Collections Room to the Exhibition Hall, which changed how the public was able to interact with the space from piece to piece. After the
Las Vegas Art Museum (or LVAM) closed its doors in 2009, their collection was left without a home. In 2012 the LVAM collection moved to the newly renovated Barrick Museum, as part of a partnership between LVAM and UNLV. In 2017, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art celebrated its 50th anniversary. Under the direction of curator and artist, Alisha Kerlin, the museum was "rebranded" with "'of Art'" being added to its name. Since 2017, the Barrick has partnered with Clark County School District to increase access to K-12 students, with the Barrick often acting as their introductory experience to a museum. In 2020, the Barrick announced its partnership with the Las Vegas
Womxn of Color Arts Festival, a Southern Nevada collective that aims to increase opportunities and visibility for “local womxn artists who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.” Currently, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art is Las Vegas' only art museum. ==Collections==