Early Years

Passaic: Artistic Beginnings

Born in 1930 in Passaic, New Jersey to a family of Russian and Polish immigrants, Abbey was the youngest of four children. She knew she wanted to be an artist at only eight years old and by the time she was 14, she was taking the train to New York to study at the Naum Michael Los School of Art. 

Southwestern Inspiration: Love and Landscape in New Mexico

While attending the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, from 1950 to 1954, Abbey met her muse. She fell in love with the landscape of the American Southwest, and it soon became a significant influence in her work. At the university, she also met author and environmental activist Edward Paul Abbey. They married and had two sons, Joshua and Aaron.

Career

Desert Wandering: Exploring the Southwest

From 1956 to 1959, Abbey explored the  Southwest landscape, living in or near national monuments in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. 

She painted outdoors, awed by the majesty of the desert and fascinated by the geology, plant life, and wildlife. For example, the Arches National Monument Series, 1956-1959, and the Taos Series, 1959-1962, both contrast organic textures with geometric shapes while focusing on color with a textured impasto paint application.

In 1965, Edward and Rita divorced after 13 years, and Abbey moved to Las Vegas. She was hired as an art professor at the Nevada Southern University, now known as UNLV, and taught there until 1987. Abbey taught drawing, painting, and color theory classes. In addition to teaching, she created and developed interdisciplinary courses with the university’s science departments.

A Shared Journey: Marriage, Support, and Creative Partnership

In 1985, Abbey married pathologist Robert Rock Belliveau, the co-founder of Associated Pathologists Laboratories (later acquired by Quest Diagnostics). As a couple, they were a perfect match. Together, they created a home and studio in the wide-open spaces of Northwest Las Vegas, where the museum now lives. Dr. Belliveau’s love and devotion to his wife’s work had him accompanying her to shows, workshops, and work sites. 

Later Life

Legacy in Architecture: Crafting a Living Tribute to Artistry 

During the last years of her life, she took on the role of helping to design her museum. Stating, “A building is more than a structure; every detail of the building is living art. Architecture has a soul, a spiritual life of its own.” 

The museum currently occupies 10,500 square feet of space on ten acres. The footprint also includes a courtyard, desert garden, outdoor sculpture park, and Abbey’s studio and home. Despite Rita’s passing, the artist still welcomes guests into the museum  through the doors that she designed—she designed all the doors and gateways to the museum, garden, and residence.

Education, Residencies, Exhibitions, and Public Installations

Education

• Abbey received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1952 and her Master of Fine Arts in 1954 from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
• She also attended:
  • Goddard College, Plainfield, VT
  • The Art Students League, Woodstock, NY
  • The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts, Provincetown, MA
  • The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Residencies

Abbey was an artist in residence at the studios of many internationally renowned artists and institutions.

• The studios of Toshi Yoshida, Tokyo, Japan
• John Killmaster, Boise, ID
• Methow Iron Works, Twisp, WA
• Tamarind Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
• Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
• Shidoni Foundry, Tesuque, NM; Bill Weaver Studio, Chupadero, NM
• Savoy Studios, Portland, OR
• Carlson & Co., San Fernando, CA.

Works of Art on Display in Las Vegas

• Spirit Tower, a 20-ft. tall cor-ten steel sculpture at the Summerlin Library.
• The sixteen Isaiah Stained-Glass Windows in the main sanctuary of Temple Beth Sholom.
• The bust of Flora Dungan in the Humanities building at UNLV.
• A plexiglass mural in one of the University Medical Center buildings on Charleston Boulevard.
• Wall of Creation, a 20 ft. x 40 ft. mural made of polyester resin and fiberglass, for Temple Beth Sholom’s former synagogue on Oakey Boulevard.

Exhibitions

See -> Exhibitions

Rita has had over 60 individual exhibitions and participated in over 160 national and international group exhibitions. She received many awards, grants, and commissions, including the Governor’s Seventh Annual Visual Arts Award for the State of Nevada in 1986, the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, Las Vegas Arts Commission’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2012. Her work is in private and public collections in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and South America.

• The Gallery Association of New York State invited her to exhibit four of her works in its 1989–1991 traveling exhibition, Color, and Image: Recent American Enamels.
• In 1992, the Markus Galleries, Las Vegas, NV, and the Nevada Symphony presented a collection of art by Abbey, which inspired Virko Baley’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The world premiere performance of the concerto was held in 1993 at the National Opera House, Kyiv, Ukraine.
• In 1993, Abbey constructed Spirit Tower, a cor-ten steel sculpture (20 ft., 11 tons), commissioned by the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District for the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center.
• The Pacific Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science invited her to lecture on Art and Geology at San Francisco State University for the 75th Annual Meeting on June 19–24, 1994. She was one of three artists from the United States invited to participate in the exhibition, Enamel Today, at Villa am Aabach, Uster, Switzerland, June–July 1995. Additionally, in 1995, Abbey completed a series of cast bronze sculptures at Shidoni Foundry, Tesuque, New Mexico.
• During 1998-2000, Abbey completed and installed the Isaiah Stained-Glass Windows: sixteen 10 ft. x 2 ft. stained-glass windows for the main sanctuary of Temple Beth Sholom, Las Vegas, NV. Also, in 2000, she completed Holocaust, a stainless-steel sculpture (14 ft. 3 in., 4.5 tons), installed at her residence in Las Vegas, NV.

Rita Deanin Abbey: 35 Year Retrospective

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Marjorie Barrick Museum, and the Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA, collaborated to present the Rita Deanin Abbey 35 Year Retrospective, held February 16–March 5, 1988, at UNLV and March 25–June 5, 1988, at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Artistic Legacy

Abbey’s Bibliography

See -> Publications & Bibilography

• Rivertrip, Northland Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 1977
• Art and Geology: Expressive Aspects of the Desert, Peregrine Smith Books, Layton, UT, 1986 (co-authored by G. William Fiero)
• the Rita Deanin Abbey Rio Grande Series, Gan Or, Las Vegas, NV, 1996
• In Praise of Bristlecone Pines, The Artists’ Press, Johannesburg (presently located in White River), South Africa, 2000
• Isaiah Stained-Glass Windows, Gan Or, Las Vegas, NV, 2002
• Seeds Yet Ever Secret: Poems and Images, Gan Or, Las Vegas, NV, 2013

Awards

Abbey has been the recipient of many commissions and grants and several awards, including:

• The Bicentennial Commission for the State of Nevada, 1976
• The Governor’s Seventh Annual Visual Arts Award for the State of Nevada, 1986
• The Chairman’s Award of Excellence at the 1987 International Exhibition of Enamelling Art, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan

UNLV Hall of Fame

On Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 Rita Deanin Abbey was posthumously inducted into the UNLV Hall of Fame at the Fontainebleau’s Bleau Live Theater. Abbey’s tenure as a UNLV professor inspired many of her students during her time at the institution, and her legacy continues to resonate with those exposed to her work. Alongside esteemed figures such as David Copperfield, Keith Thompson, and Shecky Greene, Abbey’s induction underscores her significant impact on the city and her enduring influence on the creative endeavors of multimedia artists within the community.

Abbey in the 21st Century

• In 2003, her bronze sculpture, Ner Tamid, was installed in Temple Adat Ami, Las Vegas, NV.
• Snakewash, a cor-ten steel ground sculpture (62 ft.), was completed in November 2003.
• Abbey fabricated steel sculptures and cast small and large bronzes from 2004. In 2006 she completed and installed Guardian of All Directions, a stainless-steel sculpture (14 ft., 1.5 tons).
• The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and Young Collectors Council visited the studio and home of Rita Deanin Abbey, Las Vegas, Nevada October 15, 2006.
• During March 2008, Women’s History Month, Abbey was recognized for her contributions to the Arts by Mayor Goodman and the Las Vegas City Council members.
• Hidden Pass, a steel plate sculpture (16 ft. x 28 ft. 8 in. x 13 ft. 3 in., 22 tons), was installed in 2010.
• Between July 16­–December 23, 2011, Abbey exhibited in Blast from the Past: 60s and 70s Geometric Abstractions at Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California.
• The City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, Las Vegas Arts Commission, presented Abbey with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts on May 25, 2012.
• Balanced Arc, an outdoor bronze sculpture (8 ft. 8 in. x 9 ft. x 7 ft. 4 in., 1600 lbs.), completed in 2012, was installed in April 2013.