Garbo & Archie Hearne, III, M.D.

For nearly four decades, Garbo and Dr. Archie Hearne, III, have enriched Central Arkansas through a rare dual commitment: advancing quality healthcare and celebrating Black culture. Together, they have built institutions that continue to shape the region’s artistic, educational, and community life. Their shared journey began in the early 1980s, when Dr. Hearne, a native of San Francisco, settled in Little Rock to begin his medical practice and soon met Garbo Watson of El Dorado, a registered nurse practitioner with a passion for the arts. In 1988, encouraged by friends and artists, the couple opened Pyramid Gallery at 12th and Fair Park. Within a year, the gallery expanded to include a custom frame shop and bookstore and relocated to Main Street, quickly becoming a vital cultural hub for exhibitions, book signings, and community programming.

In 1997, the Hearnes moved their business to the River Market District, renaming it Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing and Hearne Fine Art. The new space elevated their profile as cultural leaders and provided a platform to promote traditions such as Little Rock’s annual Kwanzaa celebration. In 2010, after outgrowing their downtown space, they relocated to the historic Paul Laurence Dunbar Neighborhood. Today, Pyramid and Hearne Fine Art and Hearne Family Practice stand side by side, embodying their holistic vision of wellness, culture, and education. In celebration of 20 years in the arts, they published Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art, Hearne Fine Art 1988–2008.

Garbo Hearne, born May 26, 1961, is the youngest of four children of Hugh P. Watson Sr. and Bobbie Goodson Watson. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her nurse practitioner degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences before pursuing Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts at New York University. In 2014, she was certified by the Appraisers Association of America for African American art. That same year, she founded Arkansans for the Arts, the state’s leading advocacy organization for arts investment. She has served on numerous boards, including the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Central Arkansas Library System’s Six Bridges Book Festival, and the Arkansas Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Appointed to the Arkansas Arts Council by five governors and once serving as chair, she was also named to the Arkansas Humanities Council by President Bill Clinton. Her leadership has been recognized with many honors, including the 2024 Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Community Development.

Dr. Archie Hearne, born March 1, 1952, is the second of seven children of Archie Hearne Jr. and Helen Rose Bradley. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio and completed residencies at Howard University Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences before beginning his service in rural and central Arkansas in 1983. His honors include the National Institutes of Health Public Science Award, the California Community Organization Scholarship for Travel to East Africa, the California State Graduate Fellowship, and the 2022 Charlotte Gadberry Award. The Hearnes credit their mothers as lifelong inspirations and continue to build a legacy rooted in family, faith, and service. They are the proud parents of four children: Ra Ambe, Auna, Archie IV, and AjaNia, and five grandchildren. Their philosophy is captured in the words of art historian Samella Lewis, prominently displayed in their gallery: “Art is not a luxury as many people think; it is a necessity. It documents history; it helps educate people and stores knowledge for generations to come.”