The Sculpture Collection

The Heard Museum is known for exhibiting works by artists who were, and are, breaking new ground. This is true with the museum’s collection of contemporary sculpture. Beginning in 1964, the Heard featured single-artist exhibitions each year, including a 1970 exhibition by Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache) and a 1973 exhibition by John Hoover (Aleut). In 1972, the Heard planned a series of invitational exhibitions. The first in the series was Sculpture 1 (February–April 1973), which included works by young artists Bob Haozous (Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache) and Doug Hyde (Nez Perce/Assiniboine/Chippewa), in addition to Allan Houser, who was now considered one of the leading contemporary sculptors. Other invitationals followed, including Sculpture II (December 1973–February 1974) and Invitational Sculpture (February–March 1977).

The museum purchased some sculptures from the artists in these exhibitions, and sometimes Heard supporters bought works to donate to the museum’s collection. Later on, the museum’s small sculpture collection grew with additions from the biennial art invitationals held in the 1980s and 1990s, including pieces by Larry Beck (Yup’ik) and Faye Heavy Shield (Kainai First Nation/Cree). Through the years, additional select purchases as well as important donations helped the collection grow to include sculpture by Roxanne Swentzell (Tewa), Rose Simpson (Tewa), Nora Naranjo Morse (Tewa) and other leading artists.

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