TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa's Gilcrease Museum is launching three art collections that span a wide range of themes but collectively embody diversity.
The museum is currently closed due to large-scale renovations but is still sharing collections virtually. The new exhibits will be featured prominently and give audiences around the globe access to never before seen pieces.
This influx of items adds to an already stout online collection of over 30,000 existing pieces. The new collections will feature the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Indigenous paintings, and artists Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran.
The collections were funded by two grants totaling almost $1.2 million from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“This is an amazing opportunity to throw the doors wide open for everyone to experience these important collections virtually while we construct a new Gilcrease Museum that will once again welcome in-person visitors from around the world for exhibits and experiences,” says Susan Neal, the museum’s executive director. "All [collections] bring to the forefront voices and perspectives that have long been under-represented in museums, including ours, and in the stories on which history has been written.
- Previous story>>> Gilcrease Museum displays artwork throughout Tulsa metro
Wednesday is the 102 anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and one exhibit titled Focal Point: 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, shares a vast assembly of photographs from that era. With over 700 photos and 42 hours of video, including interviews with race massacre survivors, this exhibit provides a new look at the tragedy.
“Many of the works that are now available are making their debut online. These collections represent a monumental moment in Gilcrease Museum’s quest to make our important and unique collections accessible and known as they never have been,” Neal says.
The other two collections, 150 Years of Indigenous Painting Traditions and Artists Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran will present paintings and artifacts.
The indigenous paintings collection exhibits 47 Indigenous artists and over 1,500 paintings. These paintings are newly researched by Gilcrease staff and the majority are being shown to the public for the first time. Eighty paintings will have a research essay attached that gives different perspectives and interpretations found through interviews and relative speakers.
Two significant 19th and 20th-century American artists, Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran, house their collection with the Gilcrease Museum. The entirety of Gilcrease's Moran collection will be available for preview online. This exhibit presents 2,375 items ranging from oil paintings to personal sketchbooks and letters.
The Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art has a history of sharing unique stories surrounding Oklahoma's history. They are managing their live exhibit's time off by producing virtual content on Gilcrease's website.
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