February 11-May 6, 2027
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 11, 2027 from 4:30-6:30 PM
The Center of Southwest Studies is pleased to present 32 recent additions to the Bill and Sue Hensler Contemporary Native Art Collection. Built over decades of collecting and cultivating close friendships with artists, these paintings and drawings join more than 1,500 works the Henslers generously donated to the Center beginning in the early 2000s, along with printed materials about over 900 artists and institutions that are housed in the Center’s archives. Together, this collection reflects their enduring commitment to artists and to bringing Indigenous perspectives and creative expression to wider audiences.
Bill and Sue’s collecting journey began in 1952, when they encountered a painting at an auction in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by someone Bill had met years earlier while serving in the U.S. Army. Roy Koyona, a Laguna Pueblo artist, had promised Bill a painting when the two completed their military service, but Koyona passed away before they could reconnect. Bill, a mechanical engineer, and Sue, a schoolteacher, were living in Aurora, Colorado at the time, and this unexpected re-connection to Roy’s work sparked what would become a lifelong passion for contemporary Native art.
When the Henslers began pursuing art, they sourced from art markets, fairs, and “curio shops,” but soon their collecting evolved into something more personal: connecting directly with artists and purchasing works from them whenever possible. They traveled to artists’ homes, welcomed artists into their own, and developed relationships that extended far beyond the transaction of buying art. Over time, friends became family.
After retiring, Bill and Sue moved in 1992 to just outside Dolores, where their relationships with artists continued to flourish. Their home became a gathering place as well as a living expression of their collecting journey, filled with works by notable creatives such as Irving Toddy (Diné), Jessie Hummingbird (Cherokee Nation), Beverly Blacksheep (Diné), Andrew Van Tsinajinnie (Diné), Helen Hardin (Tewa-Santa Clara Pueblo), Jean Bales (Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma), Wayne Yerxa (Ojibwe), and R.C. Gorman (Diné), and so many others.
Married for 68 years, Bill, who passed in 2023, and Sue, who passed in 2025, leave a remarkable legacy shaped not simply by the works they collected, but by the friendships and relationships at the heart of their journey. These 32 works extend that legacy, while simultaneously highlighting the diversity, creativity, and continuing evolution of contemporary Native art.
Acknowledgments
The Center of Southwest Studies is grateful to the Hensler family for their coordination and support of this final donation of Bill and Sue's personal collection.
Spring 2027 exhibits are made possible with donor support to the Center of Southwest Studies’ Peter and Deedee Decker Fund and Impact Fund.
Image captions:
- Ken Woodward (Cherokee), Indian Couple, Acrylic
- Billy Whitethorne (Diné), Red Rock, Watercolor