Allan Houser
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Overview
Allan Capron Haozous, Who Would Become Known to the World as Allan Houser, was Born in 1914 Near Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the First Child born into the community of Chiricahua Apaches following their release after decades of internment by the United States Government. After completing his basic education at the government Indian Schools, he was forced to return home at an early age to assist in the operation of the family farm. Driven by an inner muse, however, he left home in 1932 at the age of twenty to attend the Painting School at the Santa Fe Indian School. Although immersed in Apache tradition, he was fascinated by art from all over the world, and he resisted the Indian School's attempt to force him to work in what the faculty considered the only proper "Native-American style" of flat forms, bright colors, and "Indian" subject matter. He mastered a number of styles ranging from straightforward representation to pure abstraction, and throughout his career he remained alert to developments in the work of his contemporaries. Until his death in 1994 he continued to evolve, to rethink his approach, and to remaster his art. Today, his work, particularly his sculpture, can be seen in a number of collections both in the United States and abroad.Allan Houser is the first book to assess the artist's entire career, from his earliest student paintings to the soaring monumental sculpture of his late years. The author, noted art historian W. Jackson Rushing III, shows how the artist developed his unique gifts, not in opposition to, but as a participant in the most important movements of twentieth-century art. Lavishly illustrated with many color photographs taken expressly for this volume and supplemented with photographs from the Houser family archives, the book will offer a comprehensive view of the career of this remarkable artist.
Synopsis
The art world's best-known Native American artist, the Chiricahua Apache sculptor and painter Allan Houser (1914-1994), was one of the towering figures of 20th-century art. His larger-than-life sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow welcomed athletes to the 2002 Winter Olympics; his powerfully moving bronze Offering of the Sacred Pipe, created for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, has become a worldwide symbol of peace. In 1992 Houser (Haozous in his native language) became the first Native American to receive the country's highest art award, the National Medal of Arts.This beautifully illustrated volume is the first art-historical treatment of Houser's entire career. The author, a noted historian of Native American art, discusses the artist's work in relation to his Apache origins and places it in the context of the art of the 20th century. Interest in this beloved artist will undoubtedly soar with the retrospective exhibition of Houser's work, one of two shows to inaugurate the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in September 2004. Author Bio: W. Jackson Rushing III, professor of art history at the University of Houston, is a noted authority on Native American art in the 20th century. He has published numerous books and articles on Native American art, in particular its relationship to 20th-century modernism.