Houser, Allan, 1914-1994

Allan Houser was born Allan Capron Haozous on June 30, 1914. Houser’s parents, Sam and Blossom Haozous, belonged to the Chiricahua Apache tribe; Sam’s father was first cousin to the legendary Apache leader Geronimo.

In 1934 Houser left Oklahoma to study at Dorothy Dunn's Art Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1937, Allan had his first solo exhibition at the Museum of New Mexico. Within two years of graduating from the Indian School, he had already shown his work at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Golden Gate International Exposition, and the New York World’s Fair. In addition, he received a commission to paint full-size murals in the Department of the Interior’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. In 1948, the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas awarded Allan Houser a commission that essentially launched his sculpting career. Comrade in Mourning, the carrara marble memorial he sculpted, remains one of his most iconic works.

Houser taught at the Inter-Mountain School for 11 years, while also drawing, painting, and sculpting. He later joined the faculty of the newly created Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1975 Houser retired from teaching to focus exclusively on his art. In 1992, he became the first Native American awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 1994, he passed away.