Louise Tester

Louise Tester Pollard (February 22, 1914-March 13, 2004) was an Arizona artist and arts administrator. Her paintings hang in galleries and private collections in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Georgia, and Florida.

Biography

Louise was born Louise Caroline Meier in Azusa, California and lived in Los Angeles, California, and Newport Beach, California prior to moving to Yuma, Arizona in 1949 with her husband Floyd J. Tester, a well-known Yuma rancher and businessman, and her son Hank. Within a year, she had joined with other Yuma Artists to organize the Yuma Art Center, which later became The Yuma Fine Arts Association. [cite news |first=Richard |last=Nilsen |title='Potential' describes Yuma arts |url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ae/articles/0226yuma0236main.html |work=The Arizona Republic |date=2006-02-26 |accessdate=2007-12-01 ] Louise Tester Pollard was the group’s first Executive Director holding that position until she was named the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission of the Arts.

Louise Tester was an accomplished abstract expressionist painter. While living on the ranch in the Yuma Valley she would set up her easel on the back porch and paint for hours. Perhaps her art served as an escape from the harsh desert and ranch life. Her husband’s decision in 1949 to move from the coast of California, (Newport Beach), to Yuma, Arizona was not without stress for Louise.

She had been painting since the 1930’s, mostly traditional still life and landscape oils, but it was on the ranch that her work became more abstract, very colorful with the use of very bold strokes. She was way ahead of the times for a small town in Arizona.

Art collectors in Arizona and Southern California after visiting her gallery would purchase her art. She also often traded her work with other artists such as, R.C. Gorman, John Waddell, Paul Dyck, Dean Faust, Gene Kloss, and Anesa Unidotti. Louise enjoyed the arts and was foremost an art’s advocate. As the Director of the Arizona Commission of the Arts and Humanities she instituted many art programs for Arizona and traveled through North America, Mexico and Europe extensively. Her own art work was secondary in her life and therefore, she rarely exhibited or marketed her own paintings.

Louise produced a great volume of her work during the late 50’s and through the mid 70’s. However, her true talent became evident in later years when she produced fewer works but each effort taking further steps into the world of abstract expressionism. Her last paintings were massive in size with large swaths of colors, and a far contrast from the dark and tightly constructed early works.

Louise married Dean Pollard in 1983. Dean was an executive of Pacific Bell who retired and purchased a vineyard in Napa Valley. He devoted his time to growing quality grapes, which he sold to well known wineries in the Napa Valley area. He encouraged Louise to continue to paint in her later years and they were both supporters of the arts in Arizona and Northern California. Louise and her husband spent many years wintering in Yuma and summers on their beautiful and scenic vineyard in St. Helena, California. Their vineyard and the Napa Valley area were a huge inspiration and influence for many of Louise’s later paintings as can be seen in some of her works which are named after streets, flowers and other locations in the Napa, Valley area.

As executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts she established a traveling exhibition program that brought the visual arts to rural Arizona communities. In addition, in 1976 she initiated the Arts in Arizona Towns Project, which brought artists to live and work in local communities. Many artists such as Yuma’s George and Neely Tomkins were early participants in that project and continue to produce wonderful artwork in the North end Historical District in Yuma.

During her career, Louise was a prime mover in securing Yuma’s historic Union Pacific Depot for conversion into a permanent home for the Yuma Fine Arts Association.

Louise Tester-Pollard was a member of the National Endowment of the Arts, a board member of the Western Association of Art Museums and a founding member of the Western States Art Foundation.

Louise Tester’s paintings hang in private collections in the Southwest, and in permanent collections of Northern Arizona University, Citrus College, Quechan Indian Library, Yuma County Library and the Yuma Fine Arts Association. Other works hang in private collections and in several galleries in Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.

Awards

*1965: Alumni Achievement Award, Citrus College [cite news |title=Yuma Artist Receives Award |work=The Yuma Daily Sun |date=1965-06-01 ]
*1977: Arizona Arts Education Association’s Arts Advocacy Award
*1977: Distinguished Achievement Award, Arizona State University
*1982: Governor’s Arts Award [ [http://www.azarts.gov/govsarts/index.htm Governor's Arts Awards ] ]

References

4.Yuma Daily Sun, May 14th, 19825.John Peck The Arizona Daily Star, January 16, 19806.The Arizona Republic, July 20, 19697.The Yuma Daily Sun, March 30, 19738.The Yuma Daily Sun, October 1, 19809.The Phoenix Gazette, October 1, 198010.The Arizona Republic, May 15, 198211.Patrick McCune Que Pasa Magazine, September 12, 198612.The Yuma Sun, April 19, 199113.The Arizona Republic, March 17, 200414.Pam Smith, Yuma Daily Sun, March 16, 2004

External links

*http://www.louisetester.com/http://www.askart.com/askart/t/louise_pollard_tester/louise_pollard_tester.aspxwww.aznmwa.org