I woke up early, around 8:30 a.m., gathered up my sleepy boyfriend Spencer, grabbed some gas station coffee and hit the road. We were west-bound on Highway 412 for Tulsa, Oklahoma; specifically, the Gilcrease Museum.
Named for Thomas Gilcrease, an Oklahoman oil man and businessman whose personal collection jumpstarted the museum, the Gilcrease Museum possesses the largest and most comprehensive collection of American West art and artifacts. It houses art expressing varying perspectives of the American West, with whites, Native Americans, and (to an extent) women represented equally. It was a great time to go because the special collection, "Bending, Weaving, Dancing: The Art of Woody Crumbo," mostly tempera paintings by a Native American artist, helped to offset the mostly-white artists displayed in the main galleries. Displayed throughout are quotes from noted authors on the West, including Willa Cather, George Catlin, and Scott Momaday. The annals on the bottom floor are perhaps the most interesting part, however-- they contain drawer upon drawer of jades, silver jewelry, moccasins, tomahawks, kachinas, and a treasure trove of other archaeological artifacts. The reverence and quietude were palpable in the air.
On our way up the walkway to the entrance, we passed by the "Pioneer Garden," one of five period gardens on the property. The Pioneer Garden housed a teepee-like trellis on which beans and other vines could grow, as well as corn, asparagus, squash, and other vegetables nearby. Flowers also abounded, including poppies, indigo, daffodils, iris, and others. This would be representative of a well-stocked and successful pioneer garden, I'd imagine.
No comments:
Post a Comment