Thomas Gilcrease

Early life Gilcrease was born in Robeline, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, on February 8, 1890. He was the son of William Lee Gilcrease and Mary "Elizabeth" [nee Vowell] Gilcrease, a Muscogee Creek. Mary "Elizabeth" was an enrolled member of the Muscogee Nation, and shortly after his birth, the family moved to Indian Territory to take advantage of the allotments in the Creek Nation. The family lived on tribal lands near Eufaula, Oklahoma. After the move, Gilcrease's father ran a cotton gin in the nearby community of Mounds, Oklahoma. Gilcrease's early education was limited, and took place in one-room schools in Indian Territory. As a boy, he was often called "Indian Tom". Gilcrease attended Bacone College, where his most influential teacher was Alexander Posey, who taught his students the arts, sciences, writing, and about their American Indian heritage. The latter included learning of the Trail of Tears and important American Indian leaders, such as Sequoyah and Sitting Bull. Also, instruction on how to make bows and arrows and to hunt, and about the operations of the Creek National Council at Okmulgee. After Bacone College, Gilcrease enrolled in the Kansas State Teacher's College (renamed in 1974 to Emporia State University) at Emporia, Kansas. Thomas Gilcrease Sr. and Norma (Smallwood) Gilcrease were the parents of one daughter, Des Cygne Lamour Gilcrease. The Gilcrease-Smallwood marriage ended in divorce on May 2, 1934. Initially, the divorce provided for $72,000 alimony, payable at the rate of $200 per month, but with a provision that all payments would cease if Norma were to remarry. Norma balked at the provision against remarriage, so the court set alimony at $15,000, to be paid at $250 per month. During the 1920s and 1930s Gilcrease became inspired by the collections of European art museums. He began to collect oil paintings and other artifacts of the American West in 1922. The Gilcrease collection expanded over the next 20 years, with the majority obtained after 1939. In 1922, Gilcrease developed the La Linda sub-division in Long Beach, California. In 1946, Gilcrease was honored by the Sioux Nation, made an honorary tribal member and given the name Wicarpi Wakatuya, which means "High Star". Declining oil prices in the 1950s created financial difficulties for Gilcrease. Although his oil income was not insubstantial, major collection purchases limited his cash flow and placed him in a position of being unable to meet his current debt. Concerned about the integrity of his collection, Gilcrease offered it for sale as a unit in 1954. Swift action by the people of Tulsa enabled the debt to be covered by a local bond issue, and the collection remained in Oklahoma. Thomas Gilcrease died of a heart attack on May 6, 1962. After a funeral service based on traditional Indian rites, he was buried in a mausoleum on the grounds of his estate, where his mother was buried after her death on June 11, 1935. == Art collection ==

, "When Sioux and Blackfeet Meet", 1903. Watercolor and opaque watercolor on paper. Gilcrease Museum collection The Gilcrease collection of American art, Native American art, artifacts, and documents was acquired over a lifetime. Gilcrease began to collect oil paintings and artifacts of the American West in 1922. At a time when few were interested in Native American or Western painting and sculptor, Gilcrease supported a number of Oklahoma artists, including Woody Crumbo (Potawatomi) and Acee Blue Eagle (Muscogee Creek) and Willard Stone, each of whom created works held in the collection. In 1943, Gilcrease moved to San Antonio and opened the Museum of the American Indian, also known as the Gilcrease Museum. However, the San Antonio site failed to attract a large number of visitors. In 1947, he purchased the entire collection of the late Phillip Gillette Cole, an avid New York collector. The collection contained 21 bronzes and 46 paintings by Charles Marion Russell, 17 bronzes and 12 paintings by Frederic Remington, photographs by Edward Curtis, and documents and correspondence of well-known figures in the American West. Gilcrease hired architect Alexandre Hogue to design a museum to be placed on Oklahoma property he had purchased in 1914. In 1949, he opened the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art on this estate. During the remainder of his life, Gilcrease lived in an adjacent home, built of local sandstone. The rock home, dating from approximately 1912, had been extensively remodeled over the years and was surrounded by a garden specializing in plants used by local tribes. In 1954, fearing that Gilcrease Museum would be sold and leave Tulsa, a small group of citizens organized a bond election. Tulsa's citizens approved, by a 3-to-1 margin, the $2.25 million bond issue which paid Gilcrease's outstanding debts. In response, Gilcrease deeded his entire collection to the City of Tulsa in 1955, and conveyed the museum buildings and grounds to the city in 1958. In addition, Gilcrease committed oil property revenue to Tulsa for museum maintenance until the bond was fully repaid. After the transfer of the collection, Gilcrease continued to fund archaeological excavations and acquire additional materials. These materials were bequeathed to the museum upon his death in Tulsa on May 6, 1962. Gilcrease's funeral was conducted in a manner that honored his Native heritage, with Chief Wolf Robe Hunt of the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico leading the prayer. Arrows then were shot into the air to protect Gilcrease's spirit from evil during its travel to Sha-Pa-Po, the world beyond. Cornmeal was sprinkled at the site to provide food for the spirit's journey. Gilcrease's body was buried in a mausoleum on the grounds of his home and museum. == The Gilcrease Museum ==

The Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, holds what is considered among the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of fine art, artifacts, and archives dealing with the American West. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Institute grounds display of thematic gardens showcasing the gardening styles of different time periods in the American West. The grounds also include Thomas Gilcrease's home in Tulsa, as well as his mausoleum. Demolition of the old building and the start of the new is expected to begin in 2022, with completion projected by early 2025. The Thomas Gilcrease house and the mausoleum will remain. ==Notes==