NEWS
RELEASE

Landmark Collection on Exhibit at Arizona State Museum

Date of Release: September 11, 2002

(University of Arizona, Tucson) Arizona State Museum (ASM) proudly presents an exhibition of highlights from one of the nation's landmark collections of American Indian art. The exhibition is entitled CONNECTIONS ACROSS GENERATIONS: THE AVERY COLLECTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN PAINTINGS. It features nearly 90 paintings from the Marjorie Pierce Avery Collection and will run October 5, 2002 through April 30, 2003.

We hope you will join us for our opening celebration! Meet the co-curators of the exhibit and enjoy a guided tour. Also available is the accompanying catalog, whose authors will be on hand to sign copies.

Arizona State Museum is the recipient of a gift from Mrs. Avery of nearly 360 original paintings by contemporary American Indian artists, largely from the American Southwest. The gift represents a significant portion of Mrs. Avery's collection of artworks amassed over 50 years. The collection - and the exhibition - includes works by some of the most noted Indian artists of the century, representation from important styles and schools of painting, and a number of rare works by well known artists from their very early periods. The gift also represents an important addition to the museum's collections, strengthening its holdings in fine arts. It is a fresh direction for ASM, largely focused on southwestern anthropology and archaeology. The exhibition curators, Hartman Lomawaima from the museum and Melanie Yazzie from the UA department of fine arts, combine their two perspectives for a fuller, richer understanding of the works displayed.

The exhibition (see below) highlights various levels of connections - connections to past generations, connections to the spiritual world, connections to history - even meaningful connections for the curators professionally and personally. With the assistance of digital technology, the museum will present the full collection on a flat screen TV in a special area designed as a reconstruction of Mrs. Avery's living room. Says Hartman H. Lomawaima, "This is a unique and exciting opportunity for ASM to bring to public view a significant collection that, until now, has had little public exposure".

The exhibition is funded by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe as part of its active commitment to support the Tucson community. This sponsorship supports the exhibition and, in keeping with the tribe's concern for education, it also funds educational programs designed to reach a number of schools across the city as well as those in the Pascua Yaqui community. (See below for more information on programs.)

Other funding comes from: The Christensen Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and Tucson Pima Arts Council. Conservation of the artwork was funded by the Stockman Family Foundation.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
CONNECTIONS ACROSS GENERATIONS will include archaeological and ethnographic materials from the museum's collections to augment and underscore a number of themes: 1) connections across time, 2) connections to the living world, 3) connections to native history and contemporary life, 4) connections to community and community events, 4) connections to family.

An exciting series of public programs for adults and children will complement the exhibition during its 6-month run. These include artists talks and tours, artist residencies, in-school and on-site programs for children to encourage both visual and verbal literacy, and more.

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS FOR CURATORS
The co-curators have both professional and personal connections to the Avery collection.

From 1993-99, Professor Melanie Yazzie was an instructor in printmaking at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe. During her tenure at the Institute, she taught the sons, daughters, and grandchildren of artists featured in the Avery collection.

Hartman H. Lomawaima personally knew many of the artist from his years as a youth attending and participating in the same art expositions and markets with friends such as Tony Da (San Ildefonso Pueblo), Helen Hardin (Santa Clara Pueblo), and Michael Kabotie (Hopi). Other artsts whose works are in the collection, such as Fred Beaver (Creek/Seminole), Al Momaday (Kiowa), Woody Crumbo (Creek/Potawatomi), and Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara Pueblo ) were very dear friends of his late grandfather.

"For us, working with this collection has resembled a family reunion," says Lomawaima. "As co-curators, we wish to extend this circle of kinship to our audiences. This exhibition also offers an opportunity to pay tribute to and raise public awareness of a living tradition of artistry that reaches back centuries in the American Southwest."

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The paintings bracket the period 1935 to 1990, a time that brought many changes to reservation and rural economies. Tourism, dating from the completion of a transcontinental railway system, was enhanced by interstate highways and improved infrastructure bringing to both rural and reservation communities customers looking for the arts and crafts produced by the "first American." The paintings depict scenes from daily life and commemorate the many blessings religious life bestow upon native people and their communities. Works illustrating industry, occupations, architecture and the animal world are also included.

The Avery Collection contains works by members of the same family and in some cases across a generation or two. Artists are from Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. There are paintings by Geronima Cruz Montoya (San Juan Pueblo) and her sons Paul and Robert; Carl Gorman (Navajo) and his son R.C. Gorman; Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara Pueblo) and her daughter Helen Hardin; Julian Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo) and his grandson Tony Da. Woody Crumbo, Fred Beaver, Al Momaday and Valjean Hessing are among the artists from Oklahoma.

ABOUT THE DONOR
Mrs. Avery was born and raised in Arizona. As a youngster, she became familiar with Navajo weaving, Hopi pottery and Zuni jewelry that her parents purchased during visits to reservation communities. Easel art, however, was not part of her formative experience. She attended the University of Arizona for a period of time and later married. Her husband, a physician, completed residency in Massachusetts. At this time, she first saw paintings by American Indian artists on exhibit at a local gallery, and she a life-long interest was sparked. The Avery's made their home in west Texas and on trips to Arizona, she visited commercial galleries and art shows in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Over time she extended her collecting reach to include the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, NM and the Santa Fe Indian Market. Over time Mrs. Avery amassed more than 500 paintings by some of the most significant American Indian artists.

"Over forty years ago, the purchase of a single painting grew into what is now the Avery Collection. A very gratifying and unexpected side effect of collecting has been people those interesting, knowledgeable, charming, friendly, colorful, fun people!"

Marjorie Pierce Avery, December 1999