THE HEARD MUSEUM

This story is dedicated to the gentle, aristocratic little woman who, years ago, was gardening at Casa Blanca, a home on North Central. I asked her if I might see the lady of the house so she took me into the living room. There, to my surprise, she sat down, resumed darning socks, and quietly but firmly said: -"How can I help you? Let's talk..." I said, "I want to become an American citizen...So, I am now-the woman is gone, but she is alive in the hearts of all Phoenicians who shall foreever remember this Lady of Love, pioneer of Phoenix civic projects, founder of museums and the Civic Center-Maie Bartlett Heard.

In the very center of the active part of Phoenix, Arizona, in an oasis of palms a few blocks north of the Civic Center, is a delightful Spanish colonial building called the Heard Museum. We are about to enter the wrought iron gate, we have only peeked into the lush patio, when, for a moment our thoughts linger on the name "Heard" above...

Once upon a time...and this story has to start this way as there is a fragrance of magic, love, and charm in the following tale...

THE PIONEER PERIOD THE HEARD

Once upon a time... there was a powerful man, a scholar, a gentleman, but jovial, an ardent fisherman and spirited tennis player. It was August 10, 1894, Chicago. He was twenty-five. Next to him stood a small girl, refined, somewhat shy, but keen: "With dancing eyes, an air of ease and grace covering her alertness." They were married that day. Then, in the next year or so, the strong man's health began to fail, and he was advised to go West. Now we find the young couple touring the Texas panhandle in a buggy pulled by two horses.

Soon the story moves to a little town of a few thousand in the desert of the Southwest. Some historians have said that chronologically the meeting of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Phoenix in 1895 was the end of the pioneering period in Arizona, but in that year, on the train, came two pioneers of the new age. The man was Dwight B. Heard. She, Maie Bartlett Heard, his wife.

It would be impossible to walk through the Heard Museum without feeling the inspiration of those who created it. Not only is this building a monument to their genius and generosity, but all over the valley various contributions visible to the Phoenix of today show their dedication to their city. Among their remarkable activities were ranching, raising cotton, securities and loans bringingout of state money to Arizona at lower interest rates, sponsoring the Boy and Girl Scouts, YMCA and YWCA organizations, developing modern skyscrapers (Heard Building, Security Building, etc.), or hotels (San Carlos), or fighting to obtain passage of the National Reclamation Act, to bring water into the valley with the aid of Teddy Roosevelt, their personal friend, contributing to the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, and other promotions which helped the state to move in a progressive direction. They were active in the independent admission of Arizona as a State, in the construction of Roosevelt Dam, as the owner and publisher of the Arizona Republican, later the Arizona Republic, The Cattle Growers' Association, and even planting palms, which still give beauty to Central Avenue. It has been said of Mr. Heard: "He was one of the five most important men in the history of the state of Arizona..."

MUSEUM BY PAUL COZE

His health restored, Mr. and Mrs. Heard made numerous trips to Europe, extending now their adventures, studies, business and research to the cotton lands of Africa, especially Egypt, to the rich treasure of the past of Central America to Hawaii and other faraway lands.

These collectors couldn't help being museum minded, having had constant contact with the natives around theirnewly adopted city of Phoenix. There, and around the state of Arizona, Indian tradition was practically unspoiled. They had bought baskets, pottery, blankets, and encouraged and promoted native arts. The Heard curiosity, charged by their daily experiences, inspired them to buy and bring back outstanding artifacts available in the overseas countries they visited.

Then the time came when they had to make a decision; either to stop buying, or to build a permanent place for storage and exhibition. But Pimas or Papagos would stop at their house. Traders from the Navajo territory would bring down an unusual rug. The unexpected was always happening. In the '20's, for example, there was an unexcavated mound, remains of prehistoric Indians, near 18th Street and Van Buren. Vandals were digging and looting bit by bit La Ciudad, as it was called. The Heards bought the lot, hired an archeologist, and started to dig. They immediately found a burial, rich in artifacts. It was as though the magic of the Hohokam was working for those who were so much in love with the valley. Soon they decided to build a Museum next to their house on North Central in the Los Olivos subdivision. Research on Spanish styles of architecture and furniture was accumulated and with this abundance of documents architect

Weapons of Old Spain

H. H. Green started the design. In 1928 the Museum foundations were laid; building was completed in 1929, cases installed, there were happy hours of expectation: then, suddenly, one evening, March 14, Mr. Heard died.

THE MEMORIAL PERIOD

The true character of Mrs. Heard bloomed with the sorrow of the loss of her husband. The building of the Museum was on its way, and now she channeled her love into that project which crystallized into a memorial monument to Dwight B. Heard. She wanted to perfect a jewel and give to the public something as perfect as she saw her husband. Under her simple and frail appearance, her retiring personality, was a source of boundless energy. She had a practical precision, a creative imagination, and a determined will power that now went into endless hours of work. It was expended in civic activities of all sorts, for she had, deep in her heart, the strong belief that possession of wealth creates the obligation of generosity; that, because of her privileges she owed to the people and to the community her time, efforts, and belongings. She was more than a leader-she was a true aristocrat.

On June 18, 1929, she filed the Articles of Incorporation for the Museum.

The articles provide for a Board of Trustees of not more than twenty-five to manage the affairs of the Museum. The original Trustees were Mrs. Heard, Bartlett B. Heard, her thirty-one year old son, and her younger sister, Florence Dibell Bartlett. One of their first acts was to enlarge the Board with a group of interested and dedicated men and women. Among these, such outstanding citizens served as presidents after Mrs. D. B. Heard death-Orme Lewis, Edward Burrall, Barbara Williams, Read Mullan, Fritz Marquard, and Edward Jacobson.

Maie B. Heard and her sister had much in common. Florence also loved folklore, though her main interest was Sweden. They immediately oriented their interests and activities and through their contributions added tremendous assets to the City of Phoenix. On February 8, 1930, the Heard Scout Pueblo was dedicated in the South Mountains. Dwight B. Heard was, at one time, president of the Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts, with George Miller already Chief Scout.

Later on (1950), Mrs. Heard asked her brother, Frederic Clay Bartlett, her sister, Florence Dibell Bartlett, and her half-sister, Mrs. William Perdue, to join with her in contributing equally to make a gesture in the memory of their father, A. C. Bartlett, in giving to the City of Phoenix the land known now as the Phoenix Civic Center, helping, therefore, to create the Little Theatre, the Phoenix City Library, and the Phoenix Art Museum. Mrs. Heard was an art lover. Very early (1913) she organized an Art Exhibit committee as part of the Phoenix Women's Club. She launched the Municipal Art Collection and the Art Exhibit at the State Fair. In these days, when traveling exhibits came to Phoenix, they were displayed in one of the Heard build-

Her sister died in 1954, after she founded the

Photographs by Paul Coze and Hiro with the help of the Heard Museum Guild

Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fé, New Mexico, which was dedicated on September 5, 1953. Dwight B. Heard left a trust in his will and Maie B. Heard set up a matching trust shortly after the opening of the Museum. She also left Casa Blanca and the surrounding acreage to the Heard Foundation which turned over the proceeds of the sale of the property to the Museum.

Once the Museum was opened to the public, demonstrations and lectures were given. Fred Wilson helped to promote the visits of Indians of different tribes with their rug weavers, silversmiths, pottery and basket makers on Sunday afternoons. I can remember these lectures, with the Who's Who in Phoenix present, and a few of those tourists in the late '30's spending their winter at Camelback Inn or other resorts, having an eye on buying property in the Valley, and who later changed to permanent residents and even developers. Once I talked about Indian religion, and I remember in the mixed audience, not only those mentioned, but also many Indians. Maybe these faithful visits of Indians to the Museum has been from the beginning one of the most interesting aspects of the Museum's life. I remember also, that before the lectures there were intimate candlelight dinners at her home, “Casa Blanca,” which was the closest thing to Paris that one could dream of at any time in Arizona. The table arrangement was exquisite, with the beautiful old silver, the rare china. Mrs. Heard was a gourmet, and to the Frenchman it was pure delight.

“In the interest of the science of Archeology, to collect, restore, and maintain classified specimens, primitive art, and primitive works of mankind.” At this time, Odd Halseth, former City Archeologist and Director of Pueblo Grande, advised the Board of the need of a trained person to manage, direct, and improve the Museum. But to pay such a salary, plus a janitor, maintenance man, the endowment funds were not sufficient, and so the Museum could not expand, although the number of visitors increased. In 1948 Mrs. Heard was named the Woman of the Year. Soon, however, her activities were restrained by health, and on March 14, 1951, she died.

THE EXPANSION PERIOD

The first duty of the Board, now, was to find immediately someone who could take over the Museum, possibly to give it a new direction, one of progressive expansion. There was some talk about turning over the Museum to the city, or working out an arrangement with Arizona State University, or getting support from the city without city control. In the meantime, many persons were interviewed. The choice was Tom Cain, who still is the Curator of the Museum. He was brought over from the San Diego Museum of Man and has a background of a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Washington, Master of Arts from the University of Arizona, a Certificate of Scholarship from Harvard University, graduated from the School of Arts and Sciences with a Certificate of Anthropology as a Museum Professional from the Arizona State Museum. He now also teaches anthropology at Arizona State University.

From this time we see immediate changes, reorganization, physically and financially. Besides the Heard funds, the Museum receives a generous annual contribution from the Pulliam family. Very soon the budget received donations on a voluntary basis even from the public at the entrance but a large number of annual memberships is needed to carry the expanded program.

In 1956 the Museum Guild was created. On October 8, 1956, a Woman's Auxiliary was organized. On November 13, 1956, thirty women had joined the groups.

The year 1958 was a great year of progress. Wings were built in September, 1958. Under the management of Mrs. Joseph Voorhees, a Gift Shop was opened. A workshop called the Junior Museum was established with a Curator of Education, James V. Parker, well-known artist and craftsman of Phoenix. In February, 1960, Oliver King, fifty years with the Arizona Republic, became the Business Manager. Soon after, a completely new refrigerated unit was built (A gift of David Murdock, 1961), sheltering a Library, Laboratory, Curator's Office, and Storage room, over 1600 square feet. The Auditorium was revamped into the Gallery of Indian Art in 1964.

THE MUSEUM TODAY

From this time on, the activities as well as the collections have developed important gifts added to its richness, such as Read Mullan blankets. There is, supporting the Museum, a group of enthusiastic people: the members of the Board (Mrs. A. H. Rosenberg is the only charter member still present in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett B. Heard), the women of the Heard Museum Guild (with a membership of around 125, all active workers), the Art Classes, the Art groups using the facilities, and even the visitors.

The displays are changed often with the addition of the West Gallery, which in the last years has sheltered treasures from the Navajo-1958-9, Hopi-1959-60, Mexico Yesterday and Today-1960-61, Indians ofCanada-1961-62, Pacific Islands-1962-63, “Guatemalan Showcase”, The Art of Negro Africa-1963-64, and the Plains Indians in the winter of 1964.

Scenes from the annual Heard Museum Fair

The basic collection has a display of the Pre-History of the Southwest. Arizona and Southwestern Indians, Spaniards and pre-Columbian artifacts of Mexico, the Plains Indians and the northwest culture, Alaska and the Eskimos, South America, Dark Africa, North Africa with Morocco and Egypt, the Pacific, etc. There are many Dioramas, a recent one of the Conquest of Mexico having 579 figures.

Outstanding speakers have alternated with talks on travel from all over the world, illustrated with rare slides or films.

Schools are bringing children in organized groups and the Museum has a Guide Service of volunteers to lead them and make comments. The great event is the Heard Museum Fair held in late March every year. This twoday affair covers the 21/2 acres of the Museum lot. Of course, there is a Ferris wheel and refreshment stands, but there are tables and booths where well-known Indian artists demonstrate their skills. These include Indian food such as the famous Hopi piki bread, pop-overs, and parched corn. Artists will sketch you, while volunteers will smear war paint on children's faces. Authentic Indian dancers will travel from the reservations to perform several times on a large platform. A Navajo medicine man will cover the patio with a fine sand painting, and people will marvel at varied water colors, now a feature of the walls of the Auditorium. Jim Parker's classes will display their crafts and the Gift Shop is busy with the rare combination of odds and ends from all over the world, where the gift par excellence for the person who has everything can be found. With its continuous changing exhibits and displays, the Museum is a fascinating world, with people of all places and of all races represented in the showcases and among the visitors, a mirror of the world itself...

The Museum is supported by membership, in addition to the contributions of the Heards and Pulliams, which exceed 50% of the budget. The budget is $75,000 a year. During the winter, 1964, over seven hundred contributing members give from $5.0o to $500.00 a year each. At this time the Museum has twenty life members (or Honorary Curators) with $1,000.00 or more invested. The Museum is a non-profit organization, contributions are tax deductible, and the Museum is tax free and doesn't get any tax money at any level. The Museum is very anxious to get donations and collections, providing it fits the purpose in the by-laws.

Statistics are so often boring, but the following are invigorating. There are more than one hundred schools which bring children to the Museum by bus, totals more than six thousand visitors a year, who spend from one to two hours. Guides (volunteers) are furnished, one for every twenty or twenty-five children. This means that the members of the Guild give a minimum of five hundred service hours on this project alone.

Over one hundred men and women work on the Fair, which attracts nearly ten thousand people a year, two-thirds of whom are adults. The volunteers also erect and take down special exhibits, decorate, plan receptions and parties, laboratory work behind the scenes, including repairing, cataloguing, library work, etc. An estimated value of the volunteer's service is 5,000 hours a year.

The Museum is open all year around with a regular staff of five: H. Thomas Cain, Curator of Anthropology; James V. Parker, Curator of Education; Oliver King, Business Manager; an Office Secretary, Mrs. Ann Miles; and Luther Doren, Maintenance. From time to time other help is obtained, some volunteer, some student, or other, depending on the need.

The Museum staff also cooperates with the schools in preparing special exhibits for circulation in classrooms of the culture studied at the time. This is independent from the classes given by the Museum during vacation months or on Saturday all year around. There are also adult classes and evening classes with qualified paid instructors. Many of these give University credit. The fees range between $17.50 and $35.00 for eight to twelve week courses. The instructors are paid, but actually the Museum breaks even. Among the subjects taught there are: jewelry making, drawing and design, mosaics, silk screening and Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), glass art, ceramics, water color, enameling, etc. Incidentally, The Museum hours are from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, closed on Monday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The Museum is not open in the evening except for special formal occasions. Some special events and even dinners are sometimes held there; such was the visit in Phoenix of His Excellency, the Ambassador of France, Hervé Alphand, and the extraordinary Forum of Indian Art in Modern Times with Vincent Price and the staff and some students of the Institute of American Indian Art from Santa Fé with Lloyd Kiva as Director.

The Museum publishes some popular books such as the stories of Navaho Weaving by K. P. Kent and Pima Indian Basketry by Tom Cain. More are in preparation.

This is the Story of the Heard Museum, a gem of pure architecture, built with love, filled with warm memories, loaded with treasures, branching into fascinating activities - There, with imagination, Anthropology and Primitive Arts are brought to life, invigorating examples for young and old to study, for some to follow, for all to be inspired by its magical potentiality -

the “Conquest of Mexico” Diorama BY PAUL COZE

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