Staff Reports | Happenings & Events
The Heard Museum is celebrating ballerina, educator and arts advocate Delores Browne Abelson through the presentation of her collection of Native American art in a new exhibition, October Art: The Collection of Delores Browne Abelson, which opened Friday, Nov. 14.
The collection includes 17 works by leading Native American artists of the 20th and 21st centuries as well as historical items, according to a press release.
In 1984, Ms. Abelson founded October Art, a New York gallery dedicated to displaying the work of Native American artists, many of whom are represented in the exhibition. Artwork by her close friend Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu/Portuguese/Native Hawaiian), along with other contemporary Native artists whose works reflect Ms. Abelson’s lifelong passion for the arts, are featured.
Ms. Abelson, born March 30, 1935, in Philadelphia, was a pioneering ballet dancer and instructor recognized for breaking racial barriers in ballet and for mentoring future generations of dancers.
Raised in a racially mixed, working-class neighborhood, she began her dance training through a school ballet club. At age 14, she received a scholarship to Judimar School of Dance after being discovered by founder Marion Cuyjet. Ms. Abelson later trained at the School of American Ballet, where she was one of six Black students at the time.
In the 1950s, Browne performed with the Ballet Guild of Philadelphia and worked with choreographer Antony Tudor. In 1956, she joined the New York Negro Ballet, performing principal roles during a tour of the United Kingdom.
The company disbanded in 1960, and after a brief hiatus from performing, Ms. Abelson returned to the stage in 1966. She later taught at the Ailey School and Philadanco and supported organizations such as the International Association of Blacks in Dance.
“The Heard is honored to steward this remarkable collection, a gift from the estate of Delores Browne Abelson,” said David M. Roche, Heard Museum Dickey Family Director and CEO. “Her illustrious career as a pioneering dancer is well known. We will shed light on her pioneering efforts in the field of American Indian art with this exhibition.”
October Art: The Collection of Delores Browne Abelson is made possible thanks to major supporters Susan Esco Chandler and Appy Chandler, supporter Lili Chester in memory of Sheldon Chester, and by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture.
