In 2010, Arizona attorney James T. Bialac (1928-2022) gifted more than 4,000 works of Indigenous art from his private collection to the University of Oklahoma and its Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The items, amassed over 50 years, stand as one of the finest archives of artistic production from Native artists across America in the 20th century.
Harrison Begay (1917-2012, Diné), Fawn Under a Rainbow, watercolor, 19¼ x 15½”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of James T. Bialac.
Bialac’s passion didn’t subside following the gift. He continued acquiring hundreds of pieces each year, across mediums, still focusing on contemporary Native American art.
The Tucson Museum of Art became the beneficiary of this final era in Bialac’s collecting journey in 2022, a second historic donation forever uplifting another museum committed to the presentation of Native American art. TMA presents a selection of items recently received following Bialac’s passing last year during Enduring Legacies: The James T. Bialac Indigenous Art Collection, on view February 2, 2023 through February 25, 2024.
David Bradley (Chippewa), Another Minnesota Folk Legend, 1987, oil on canvas, 25 x 20”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of James T. Bialac.
During law school at the University of Arizona in the late 1950s, Bialac began collecting Hopi kachinas. Over time, he accumulated roughly 1,000. He was just getting started.
“It was in the 1960s, after establishing a practice in the Phoenix area, that he began to vigorously collect other forms of Indigenous art, particularly paintings, prints and other flatworks created by artists of that time,” sasy Christine Brindza, the James and Louise Glasser Curator Art of the American West at the museum. “I believe what interested him about contemporary Indigenous art was the interaction he could have with the artists, and that there was a thriving artistic community he could be involved with as a collector.”
T.C. Cannon (1946-1978, Kiowa), Diné, linocut, 26¼ x 22¼”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of James T. Bialac.
Bialac immersed himself in that community. He counted gallerists and artists amongst his clients, often taking artworks as compensation in lieu of cash for legal services rendered. Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache) and Charles Loloma (Hopi) were personal friends. He served as a judge at Santa Fe Indian Market.
The TMA exhibition honors his lifelong passion to collect, support artists, nurture creativity and help sustain artistic traditions. Developed through collaborative and community-based dialogue with Indigenous scholars, Enduring Legacies focuses on the intimate relationships and interconnectedness of stories, people, events and nature as told from multiple perspectives found in the artworks.
Hyrum Joe (Diné), title unknown, oil on canvas, 17 x 20”. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of James T. Bialac.
Artists featured include Julian Martinez (San Ildefonso), Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara Pueblo), Joan Hill (Cherokee), Fritz Scholder (Luiseño) and T.C. Cannon (Kiowa) alongside more recent works by Kevin Red Star (Apsáalooke), Hyrum Joe (Diné) and Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo).
Bialac’s donation super-charges TMA’s ongoing commitment to Indigenous arts, which entered an exciting new era in March 2021 with the opening of a completely reinstalled and expanded Indigenous Arts gallery. Beyond Enduring Legacies, TMA looks forward to items from the Bialac collection aiding in developing future exhibitions showcasing Indigenous art as relevant, impactful and important to the region for decades to come.
February 2, 2023-February 25, 2024
Enduring Legacies: The James T. Bialac Indigenous Art Collection
Tucson Museum of Art 140 N. Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-2333, www.tucsonmuseumofart.org
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