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Peaceful Serenity, a sculpture by one of the 20th century’s most renowned Native American artists, Allan Houser (1919-1994), was dedicated during a ceremony on Oct. 7. The work was purchased through a gift from Mary Alice Kean Raynolds and David R.W. Raynolds ’49 and now stands on the lawn of Sherman House, home of Dartmouth’s Native American Program. The two standing figures, representing mother and child, reflect the artist’s interest in abstract forms and the use of space. Before he was 30 years old, Houser’s work had been exhibited in major U.S. cities and, over the course of his life, he produced some 1,000 sculptures that were shown in almost 50 solo exhibitions around the world. The French government honored him in 1954 with the Palmes d’Academique and President George H. W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Arts in 1992. When the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian opened, Houser was honored with a major retrospective.
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“Peaceful Serenity is a work of great character,” says Brian Kennedy, director of the Hood Museum of Art. “It speaks of so much that Allan and Anna Marie Houser have clearly held dear—protection of and caring for culture; peace, harmony and serenity; our mutual independence and dependence; the sharing of culture and the celebration of diversity.” Anna Marie Gallegos Houser was in attendance at the dedication.
Speaking at the ceremony, President James Wright said, “Peaceful Serenity reminds us of who we are and reminds us of the rich history of this College.” The sculpture “serves as a marker,” added Colin Calloway, professor of history and Samson Occom Professor of Native American Studies, “of Native American history and presence, which is a fundamental part of Dartmouth’s past and present.”
Houser was a member of the Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache tribe and served as translator to his great uncle, Geronimo. His life was devoted to painting and sculpture and, in addition to numerous other teaching posts, he created the sculpture department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Houser was an artist-in-residence at Dartmouth in 1979.
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At the dedication of Peaceful Serenity by sculptor Allan Houser, from left: David R.W. Raynolds ’49; Anna Marie Gallegos Houser, widow of Allan Houser; Barbara Thompson, curator of African, Oceanic and Native American collections, Hood Museum of Art; Brian Kennedy, director of the Hood; and David Rettig ’75, curator of corporate collections, Allan Houser Inc. (Photo by Joseph Mehling ’69)