Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles

Join us as we explore the meanings behind some of the most powerful words in the Declaration of Independence from the Autry’s signature perspective: “The View From Here.” Los Angeles, from its beginnings, has been a place of competing claims to life, liberty, and happiness. This exhibition shares the stories of diverse Angelenos and how their ideas of life, liberty, and happiness inspired the city’s growth and amplified the opportunities and contradictions expressed in the nation’s founding principles. Historical and contemporary objects, media, and art combine with community collaborations to bring this history to life. Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles invites you to step into a conversation that has been shaping Los Angeles for more than two hundred years and to see the United States—its past and its future—in a new way.