Public Docent Tours

The Noah Purifoy Foundation is offering docent-guided tours to the general public! Our docents knew and collaborated with Noah over many years and are able to bring his art and artistic process to life. You can read bios of two of our Trustee docents Sue Welsh and Joe Lewis below.

Private Group Tours

Docent-guided group tours for school and museum groups may be arranged by advance reservation. For more information please contact the Foundation at noahpurifoyfdn@gmail.com

Any person or commercial entity seeking to conduct a guided tour of the Museum for financial remuneration must first request permission from NPF at noahpurifoyfdn@gmail.com

Sue Welsh Bio:

NPF trustee and co-founder, Sue met and collaborated with Noah Purifoy in the 1960s when Noah was the first director of the Watts Towers Art Center. When Noah resigned from the California Arts Council in 1987, Sue represented him and provided a space in Los Angeles, Tara’s Hall, for his artworks to be seen and sold. With increasing national attention to his Joshua Tree desert art museum, Sue suggested establishing a foundation to support his artistic practice and legacy. Together Sue and Noah started NPF in 1999 as a private, non-profit, all volunteer organization, now in its 19th year.  In 2015, Sue initiated NPF’s urban arts program and curriculum for middle school students drawing upon Noah’s principles of the art process. It’s called Gil Friesen Art Day, named in memory of Friesen, NPF emeritus trustee and donor. The full day includes a docent tour of Noah’s museum, lunch and a windshield bus tour through Joshua Tree National Park for South Los Angeles students and staff. 

Joe Lewis Bio:

Joseph S. Lewis III is President of the Noah Purifoy Foundation, and a nationally known non media-specific artist, writer, and professor of art at the University of California, Irvine. Joe joined the Foundation in 1999 and worked with Noah on a number of projects including the  College Art Association Distinguished Artist interviews and exhibitions. He also assisted Noah with site development of the Outdoor Museum, and negotiated with County entities to protect the Museum site and its artwork. Currently he is involved with Trustee development and community outreach on behalf of the Foundation. Joe has written or contributed to essays and articles about Noah and his work for many art publications including Art in America, KCET Artbound, Voices of Contemporary Art Journal/VoCA, most recently, The Brooklyn Rail.NPF trustee and co-founder, Sue met and collaborate