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| Dwight and Maie Heard began collecting American Indian art soon after their move to Phoenix from Chicago in 1895. They were a team in this mutual interest, although Mrs. Heard was most immediately involved with shaping the collection. They built much of the collection through purchases from trading posts and other Indian arts dealers such as the Fred Harvey Company. Also, they collected on trips to other parts of the world including Africa and Hawai’i. |
| In 1903, the Heards built a home, which they named “Casa Blanca.” Visitors entered a sweeping circular driveway that led to the one-story, 6,000-square-foot house. The home had six fireplaces with rooms built around an open courtyard. The entire estate included a gazebo, clay tennis court, a palm tree nursery and, later, an adjacent two-story guest house. |
| As their collection outgrew their home, Mr. and Mrs. Heard began plans to build a museum to share their artwork with the public. They had the museum built on the eastern part of their property with a covered walkway connecting the museum to the Heard’s home. The opening of the Heard Museum on December 26, 1929 marked the realization of their dream despite the untimely death of Mr. Heard in March just months before the museum’s incorporation in June of 1929. |
| Throughout the museum’s first 22 years, Mrs. Heard continued adding to the museum’s collections. The collection grew, largely through donations from private collectors, until in 1951, when Mrs. Heard died, the collection probably contained 3,000 works of art. |
