Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2012.038.016 |
Collection |
Hardy, Katherine Walling |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Date |
04/28/1974 |
Description |
Reproduction black & white reproduction photograph measuring 10" x 8" and depicting the east elevation of the Thomas Gilcrease house, located at what is now 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Road, Tulsa, OK. A sign on the porch reads, "Belle Harlow Gilcrease Special Exhibitions Gallery." William Thomas "Tom" Gilcrease, prominent oil producer and founder of the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, was born February 8, 1890, at Robiline, Louisiana, to parents William Lee Gilcrease (1868-1913) and Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Vowell Gilcrease (1873-1935). Thomas Gilcrease was one-eighth Muscogee Creek by blood and received a land allotment located one mile southwest of the future location of Glenpool in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The location of his allotment in the Glenn Pool Oilfield served as the catalyst for Gilcrease's interest and success in the oil industry. He became an independent oil producer, and on April 9, 1914, he formed the Gilcrease Oil Company. By the age of twenty-seven, his tract included thirty-two oil wells. On September 30, 1919, an attorney for the company filed a voluntary dissolution of the corporation. On January 7, 1922, Gilcrease formed the Gilcrease Oil Company of Oklahoma, with capital of $100,000. The executive officers include the following: Thomas Gilcrease, president; Frank Gaston Walling, vice-president; C. H. Lamb, secretary; and G. B. Bancroft, treasurer. The company's offices were located in the Wright Building at 115 West 3rd Street in Tulsa. At that time, the company's assets included oil leases on about 7,000 acres in Hughes, Okfuskee, and Pontotoc counties. On November 30 1925, Thomas Gilcrease embarked on a four-month tour of the Mediterranean and Middle East with French traveling companion Numa Bouttier. During the journey, Gilcrease and Bouttier captured numerous scenes in snapshots. These images are part of the collections of the Tulsa Historical Society & Museum. The locations in the photographs match the places described in Bouttier's travel journal. More importantly, Gilcrease himself wrote the captions on the back of most of the snapshots. His travels taught him the importance of preserving history by telling the stories of past cultures. It was this study of other peoples and ancient relics that inspired him to begin collecting an archive of the Americas, both past and present, and to preserve stories and artifacts for future explorers of history. In later years, Gilcrease made many other trips abroad. He opened his first museum in 1943 in San Antonio, TX. In 1949, he founded a museum in Tulsa, OK, and amassed the nation's most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as major collections of historical documents and artifacts. Faced with demands from creditors, Gilcrease decided to give the collections of his museum to the City of Tulsa in order to keep the collection intact. In 1955, he deeded his collections to the City of Tulsa. Thomas Gilcrease died on May 6, 1962 in Tulsa, OK, at the age of seventy-two. His museum continues today as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American Art and History, located at 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Road in Tulsa. |
Search Terms |
Gilcrease Mansion houses |
Place |
Tulsa, OK |