July 13, 1951

Leon Niehues (pronounced: “nee house”) was born in Seneca, Kansas. He was raised on a farm with six siblings, including a twin. He and his wife settled in Arkansas following their honeymoon in Madison County in 1974. Niehues is a highly regarded basket maker in the United States and internationally. In 2002, he was chosen by his peers as one of the top twenty-eight fiber artists producing the “new basket” form in the United States. On May 5, 2005, Niehues was recognized by the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Arkansas Arts Council as the 2005 Arkansas “Living Treasure” at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock (Pulaski County), an honor earned after twenty-four years of impressive work.