The Basha Collection, acquired over decades by grocery store owner and famous Arizonan Eddie Basha, has been donated to two art museums in the Grand Canyon State: the Heard Museum in Phoenix and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. The two museums will split the collection, with many of the Native American materials going to the Heard and the Western material and some Native American objects going to Western Spirit. Many of the art objects will be outright gifts to the institutions, while others will be on long-term loan.
Joe Beeler, left, with Eddie Basha in front of Beeler’s Thanks for the Rain.
The announcement of the donations, made October 9 at the collection’s public gallery in Chandler, Arizona, was widely expected after the Bashas’ grocery chain was sold to a California grocery company in late 2021. Founded in 1932, the chain rose to prominence under the leadership of the founder’s son, Eddie Basha, a colorful character who appeared in many of the chain’s TV and print advertisements. Basha also ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and he was a passionate philanthropist for numerous causes, both of which made him a household name to many in Arizona. He started collecting Western art and quickly became friends with many of the artists, including John Clymer and Joe Beeler, who he considered his best friend. Basha died in 2013.
Howard Terpning, Field Headquarters, Arizona Territory 1885, 1979, oil, 30 x 48”
Reflecting on the donations, Eddie’s wife, Nadine Basha, says she is proud the collections could stay largely together and in the state that her husband loved so much. “It feels really great because Eddie loved this art collection. He was passionate about every piece of it, every piece of which he personally collected,” Nadine says. “Some collectors bought art for investments, but not Eddie. He was all in as a collector because he loved the art and the artists. Every fiber of his being was about enjoying the art and supporting the artists. We are so happy that these two museums have pledged to work together to continue what Eddie started.”
Melvin Warren (1920-1995), Vanishing Storm, 1977, oil, 28 x 40”
Nadine added that she was personally very fond of some of the Akimel O’odham (Pima) baskets because her and husband shared a connection with them. “Eddie and I collected the baskets together. He was well into Western art before I met him, but these baskets were collected together. I love basketry and pottery, and when we started collecting, some people were buying the pieces and taking them out of the country. We felt these were important items that celebrated heritage and history in Arizona and we wanted to keep them here in Arizona.”
More than 2,000 items are part of the donations to the two museums. Nadine jokes about her husband’s collecting habits: “I always teased him that he had a grocer’s mentality because he always bought in bulk.” Artists represented in the donation include Beeler, Clymer, Martin Grelle, Wayne Baize, Charlie Dye, James Reynolds, John Moyers, Howard Terpning, Sheila Cottrell, Bill Owen, Paul Pletka, Fritz Scholder and many others.
Charlie Dye (1906-1973), The Butterfield Stage, 1963, oil, 24 x 36”
Both the Heard and Western Spirit will be planning special programming in the coming years, with Western Spirit planning a future expansion that will house its portion of the Basha Collection.
The Basha Collection gallery in Chandler will remain open until December 1, after which the gallery will close and the donations will move to their respective museums. For more information, visit eddiebashacollection.com. —
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