Allan Houser Exhibitions
Exhibitions & Collections
Allan Houser exhibited his work at major institutions for more than five decades, beginning with the 1939 World’s Fair in New York and the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. His paintings and sculpture appeared at the National Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Grand Palais in Paris, the Kunstlerhaus Wien in Vienna, and venues across Germany, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In 1992, he became the first American Indian to receive the National Medal of Arts, presented by President George Bush.
Since his death in 1994, exhibitions of his work have continued through Allan Houser Inc. and institutional partners. Major posthumous presentations include the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s “Native Modernism” retrospective (2004-2005), exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, the Desert Botanical Gardens and Heard Museum in Phoenix, and a series of centennial exhibitions across Oklahoma and the Southwest in 2014.
His work is held in permanent collections at more than 100 museums, universities, government buildings, and cultural institutions worldwide, including the Smithsonian, Centre Georges Pompidou, the British Royal Collection, and the Japanese Royal Collection.
Traveling Exhibitions
Allan Houser Inc. maintains curated traveling exhibitions designed for institutional presentation. Each exhibition is professionally crated and available for loan to museums, galleries, universities, and cultural organizations. Exhibition scope, dimensions, installation requirements, and loan terms are available on request.
Allan Houser Inc. has a long history of working with institutional partners to present his work in contexts that honor both its artistic significance and its cultural meaning to Native communities. The gallery team supports hosting institutions throughout the planning and installation process.
Selected Exhibition History
1939
New York World’s Fair
Exhibited paintings at the New York World’s Fair and the Golden Gate International Exposition. Work also shown at the National Gallery of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.
1947
Comrade in Mourning
Commissioned by the Haskell Institute to create Comrade in Mourning, a monumental marble sculpture honoring Native Americans who died in World War II.
1949
Guggenheim Fellowship
Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in painting and sculpture.
1954
Palmes d’Academique
Awarded the Palmes d’Academique by the French Government for outstanding work as teacher and artist.
1981
Grand Palais, Paris
Exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, Grand Palais, Paris.
1983
Germany Touring Exhibition
Touring exhibition opened at Amerika Haus in Berlin, traveling to Hanover, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Nuremberg, and Munich.
1984
Vienna & Eastern Europe
Exhibition opened at the Kunstlerhaus Wien in Vienna, then traveled through 1986 to Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
1985
United Nations Installation
Monumental bronze Offering of the Sacred Pipe dedicated at the United States Mission to the United Nations, New York City.
1989
Waters Flow
Monumental bronze As Long as the Waters Flow dedicated at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building.
1991-1994
Museum of Fine Arts
“Allan Houser: A Life in Art,” a retrospective touring exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico. Venues included the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum at the University of Oklahoma, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, and the Palm Springs Art Museum.
1992
National Medal of Arts
First American Indian to receive the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artists. The award was presented by President George Bush.
1993
Arts Museum
Opening of the Allan Houser Art Park and dedication of monumental bronze Evolution at the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe.
1997
Italian Carrara marble sculpture
Earth Song, an Italian Carrara marble sculpture, exhibited at The White House in the Jacqueline Kennedy Rose Garden as part of “Honoring Native America.”
2004-2005
Smithsonian Retrospective
“Native Modernism: The Art of George Morrison and Allan Houser,” a retrospective exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
2006-2007
An American Treasure
“Allan Houser: An American Treasure,” an exhibition of major bronze sculpture at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.
2009-2010
dual exhibition
“Allan Houser from Tradition to Abstraction,” a dual exhibition at the Desert Botanical Gardens (18 monumental outdoor bronzes) and the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
2011
outdoor sculptures
“Native Roots/Modern Forms,” an exhibition of 24 monumental outdoor sculptures at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
2014
Centennial Exhibitions
Centennial celebrations across multiple institutions, including “The Houser/Haozous Family: Celebrating a Century” at the Heard Museum, “Form and Line” at the Gilcrease Museum, “Allan Houser Drawings: The Centennial Exhibition” at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, and exhibitions at the Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Philbrook Museum, and Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
2019
Human Nature Exhibition
Eight monumental outdoor sculptures featured in “Human Nature” at the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens.
Public Collections
Allan Houser’s work is held in permanent collections at the following institutions:
| Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France | Oklahoma State Capitol Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Berlin, Germany | Oklahoma State Art Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| British Royal Collection, London, England | Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Japanese Royal Collection, Tokyo, Japan | National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. | Oklahoma History Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. | Fred Jones Jr. Museum, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma |
| National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. | Thomas F. Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| United States Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. | Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| United States Mission to the United Nations, New York, New York | Greater Southwest Historical Museum, Ardmore, Oklahoma |
| Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York | Southern Plains Indian Museum, Anadarko, Oklahoma |
| Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire | Museum of the Great Plains, Lawton, Oklahoma |
| Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Ledyard, Connecticut | Fort Sill Apache Tribal Center, Apache, Oklahoma |
| Montclair Museum, Montclair, New Jersey | Chisholm Trail Museum, Duncan, Oklahoma |
| James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania | Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California |
| Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, Pennsylvania | California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California |
| Ackland Museum of Art, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California |
| Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Georgia | California State University at San Bernardino |
| Lowe Museum, University of Miami, Miami, Florida | University of California at Santa Barbara |
| Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida | Museum of Man, San Diego, California |
| Raymond James Financial Art Collection, St. Petersburg, Florida | Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California |
| Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama | Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon |
| New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana | University of British Columbia Law School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois | Evergreen State College, Tacoma, Washington |
| Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota | Sundance Institute, Sundance, Utah |
| Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota | City and County of Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana | Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Joslyn Museum of Art, Omaha, Nebraska | Glendale Library, Glendale, Arizona |
| Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, Iowa | Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Ella Carothers Dunnegan Museum, Bolivar, Missouri | Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Heifer International, Little Rock, Arkansas | Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas | Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas | Albuquerque International Sunport, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas | Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas | Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota | New Mexico State Capitol Building, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Indian Museum of North America, Crazy Horse, South Dakota | Hotel Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Haskell Indian Nations University Cultural Center and Museum, Lawrence, Kansas | Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, Wyoming | Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming | Adams State University, Alamosa, Colorado |
| City of Sheridan, Wyoming | Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado |
| Loveland High Plains Arts Council, Loveland, Colorado | Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado |