100 Years of Freedom

The Heard Museum celebrates

the centennial of the birth of

Allan Houser and 100 years of

freedom for the Chiricahua

Apache as it opens 

The Houser/Haozous Family:

Celebrating a Century.

More than paying homage to the birth of a child, this exhibit also pays tribute to a modern Indian nation through the art of an acclaimed family of artists. The exhibit of Houser’s works and those of his two sons will have its public opening at 9:30 a.m., April 5, 2014. The event will be held in the Nichols Sculpture Garden and adjacent gallery at the Heard. The exhibit will run through April 26.

The Chiricahua Apache were exiled from Arizona in 1886 and held as prisoners of war until 1913-14, when they were released from Fort Sill, Okla. In that first year of freedom, Allan Houser (1914-1994) was born. Houser became an internationally recognized sculptor and painter. Two of his sons, Phillip Haozous (born 1941) and Bob Haozous (born 1943), have continued the family tradition of experimenting with new materials and techniques, producing art that honors their heritage and finds strength, even reverence in the natural world.

The Houser/Haozous family has produced a variety of award-winning art reflecting on Apache history and illustrating the importance of family, music and song, and the preservation of Apache cultural traditions.

Art donated to the Heard from the estate of Ann B. Ritt, a long-time collector and friend of the museum, forms an integral portion of the exhibit.

At top: Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache), 1914-1994, “War Pony,” 1978. Bequest of Ann B. Ritt

Left: Sacred Rain Arrow 001 – Phillip Haozous (Chiricahua Apache/Navajo), b. 1941, “Sacred Rain Arrow”, 2001. Courtesy of artist.