Current Exhibits
"Family Album"Photographs of Pierre Tartoue
Through July 2013Pierre Tartoue (1885-1976) was born in the harbor town of Saint-Nazaire on the western shores of France, and in his lifetime made his way across most of the continental United States. From the late 1930s to early 1950s he spent most of his time in Oklahoma painting and producing photographs that witnessed tremendous renaissance in American Indian communities, including the emergence of large intertribal expositions and powwows.
Tartoue photographed events such as the Anadarko Indian Exposition with the idea that he would somehow capture the essence of a "vanishing race." This was a popular idea among many of his contemporaries, such as Edward Curtis. Yet, the project as Tartoue envisioned was doomed from the start. What he produced was a family album of sorts. His photographs observe young mothers with their newborns, grandparents sharing their culture with the new generation, and watch many of these children grow up and take on leadership within their tribes and intertribal communities. Their vibrant energy tells a story of survival and triumph in the dark shadow of the Great Depression and World War II. These images remind future generations of not only how far we have come, but how to have strength and resilience to keep moving forward.
This exhibit features 25 contemporary silver gelatin prints from original Pierre Tartoue negatives from the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division photo archives. Please note this exhibit is on display in the Chesapeake Event Center; this room is also used for meetings and special events. Visitors are encouraged to call in advance to confirm the room will be open to the public on the day of their visit.
Reigns Supreme: The Little Black Dress
With the introduction of the little black dress by Coco Chanel in 1926, women have turned to this fashion staple ever since. Simple, elegant, timeless, and classic are all terms that sum up the little black dress and its role in fashion history. Drawing from the fashion collection of the Oklahoma Historical Society, this exhibit will showcase over 30 examples of the little black dress. Homage will be given to Audrey Hepburn for her role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, directed by Blake Edwards of Tulsa. An additional feature of this exhibit will focus on the Stork Club which was founded in New York by native Oklahoman Sherman Billingsley.
Oklahoma Writers—A Literary Tableau
This new exhibit focuses on writers in a variety of mediums including historians, western writers, journalists, memoirists, playwrights and screen writers, literary novelists, mystery and crime writers, science fiction, fantasy and horror writers, young adult and children's writers, poets, and Oklahoma song writers.
The Oklahoma History Center is planning a series of lectures and book signings featuring some of the writers whose works are part of the exhibit. These programs will be announced as they are developed.
For more information about this exhibit contact Larry O'Dell at (405) 522-6676 or by email at lodell@okhistory.org or David Davis at (405) 522-0798 or by email at ddavis@okhistory.org
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Divet, a female red river hog
Photo by Karen Whitecotton
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Zeppy, a male Moluccan Cockatoo
Photo by Karen Whitecotton
Enriched: Animal Art from the OKC Zoo
Saturday, September 8, 2012 through Saturday, June 1, 2013
“Enriched: Animal Art from the OKC Zoo” is an exhibit partnering with the OKC Zoo and their ZooZeum to showcase the process of animal enrichment through painting. The paintings are extremely unique and provide the animals with new sensations that stimulate them mentally and physically.The Zoo has been an important local institution in the OKC community for over a century and the History Center is delighted to share their history and conservation efforts with our guests.
Oklahoma @ the Movies
This new major exhibit celebrates Oklahomans involvement with the motion picture industry. This celebration showcases the creativity and innovation of Oklahomans and their legacy of creating, starring in, and watching motion pictures on the silver screen. The exhibit a lso explores film stories about Cowboys and Westerns, American Indians and Hollywood, African American movies filmed in the state, the film industry in Oklahoma, and the "Oklahoma Image" on screen. Find out more.
Exhibit Companion Book Now Available
OHS is pleased to announce the release of Oklahoma @ the Movies, a companion book to the exhibit. From the book jacket:
"The second in the Oklahoma Historical Society's Popular Culture Series, Oklahoma @ the Movies gives readers an intimate, insider's view of the Sooner State's impact on Hollywood over the motion-picture industry's hundred-year history. This is a lively and entertaining story-the story of Sooner State stardom!"
Contributing authors include: Elizabeth Anthony, Gary Rhodes, Bill Moore, Hugh Foley, Steve Gragert, Debra Spindle, Guy Logsdon, Bobby Weaver, John McConnel, Loretta Jackson, Dianna Everett, Ryan LaCroix, Larry O'Dell Brian Hearn, John Wooley, and Gray Frederickson. The book is available now for $34.99. Contact the Okahoma History Center Museum Store to purchase - 405-522-5214.
Left: Spirit Horse, serigraph by Woody Crumbo Right: Spirit Talk, serigraph by Woody Crumbo
Crumbo Spirit Talk
"Half of my life passed in striving to complete the pictorial record of Indian history." -Woody Crumbo
“Crumbo Spirit Talk,” a new exhibit featuring the art of Woody Crumbo and his children is now on exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center.
Crumbo was born January 31, 1912, on his mother's allotment near Lexington, Oklahoma. A Citizen Potawatomi tribal member, he dedicated his life and talent to the sincere portrayal of American Indian thought and culture through his art. His prolific work included major advances in oil, silkscreen, tempera, pencil and watercolor. Crumbo's career spanned nearly six decades and his paintings are found in numerous museums and private collections around the world including that of the Queen of England.
Crumbo's legacy was realized in the continuing artwork of his daughter, Minisa Crumbo Halsey, and son, Woody Max Crumbo. Minisa Crumbo Halsey is a talented artist whose work has been shown throughout Europe and the Russian Federation. This exhibit features a retrospective of her work from the 1970s and 1980s. Woody Max Crumbo is a gifted silversmith; the exhibit also features several of his pieces including a concho belt and gorget necklace. The legacy of Woody Crumbo's art continues to impact current and future generations.
The exhibit will run from June 28, 2012 thru the end of 2013. It is located in the E. L. & Thelma Gaylord Special Exhibits Gallery on the first floor of the Oklahoma History Center. The exhibit is co-sponsored by Minisa Crumbo Halsey and the Oklahoma Historical Society. For more information please contact Tara Damron at (405) 522-0784 or by email at tdamron@okhistory.org.
All images courtesy of Crumbo Family Archive.
Oklahoma & The Day That Will Live In Infamy
December 7 of 2011 was a pivotal anniversary. It was the 70th anniversary of when the United States entered into World War II with the simultaneous attacks on Wake Island, Guam, the Philippines, & Hawaii.
Why is it a "pivotal" anniversary? This current generation will bridge the gap between the living veterans of these events and the literal memory of what happened to these men and women. Or...the literal memory of what they experienced.
Although there were not any Japanese planes that attacked the state of Oklahoma, many Oklahomans experienced the devastation those planes unleashed on that part of the world. We want to tell these important stories so that succeeding generations will remember tyranny and its effects in the hope that it will not be repeated.
This exhibit is currently on display in the Sam Noble gallery.
Caddo Leadership and Community
Within the OneOK Gallery of the Oklahoma History Center there is an area set aside to provide exhibit space for each tribe to interpret their own history to the public. Each of these small venues is a cooperative effort between the tribe and the Oklahoma Museum of History. The initial tribes featured in this area were the Pawnee, Osage, Choctaw, and Kiowa peoples. In 2008 the Chickasaw Nation replaced the Kiowa Tribe in this area.
This exhibit is the end result of a year-long cooperative effort between the Caddo Nation Museum and the Oklahoma Museum of History. The Caddo Nation Museum provided the interpretation, graphics, design ideas, and artifacts for the area. The staff of the Oklahoma Museum of History provided tools, material, and technical expertise for the installation and creation of graphic panels.
The title of the exhibit is "Caddo Leadership and Community." Within this exhibit visitors will be presented with information regarding Caddo history, the Caddo Turkey Dance, and artifacts from their traditional homelands. These artifacts are a core piece of the interpretation of the geographic expanse that the Caddo confederacy once covered. These are a pot from Craig Mound at Spiro, two chert points from a village site in Louisiana, a pipe from Battle Mound in Arkansas, and a replica of a shell gorget from a village site in Texas. The original Texas gorget is too fragile to move from its current storage location. Also on display is a cast replica of an effigy pipe from Spiro Mounds. This pipe, commonly referred to as 'Big Boy' or the 'Resting Warrior', features the carved figure of a kneeling man wearing heads for earrings.
