Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 3

Shoshone Falls, Thomas Moran. On permanent display at the Gilcrease Museum. https://gilcrease.org/ Photo copyright, Gilcrease Museum.

Today I am grateful for the Gilcrease Museum.

I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the great treasures of Tulsa is the Gilcrease Museum. Located in the Osage Hills on the west side of the Arkansas River the museum offers a beautiful vista of downtown Tulsa.

The Gilcrease was born of the vision of Thomas Gilcrease, an oilman who made a fortune in the oil fields that surrounded Tulsa at the turn of the 20th century. Mr. Gilcrease collected more than 10,000 works of art, over 100,000 rare books and documents including the only surviving certified copy of the Declaration of Independence and over 250,000 Native American artifacts. The museum is now owned and operated by the University of Tulsa.

The museum is a marvel to me. When I am back home I try always to make at least one trip to the museum. It is a touchstone; a power center, the place that helps me feel grounded and connected to my beloved hometown. I am especially fond of the collection of Moran, Russell, Remington and Bierstadt landscapes and sculptures. The painting pictured above is entitled Shoshone Falls, and was painted in 1900. It is an enormous canvas measuring nearly seven feet in height and thirteen feet in width.

In this season of Lent where darkness and light meet, where we look inwardly that we may live outwardly, Shoshone Falls is an apt image. It is wild and yet sublime. It is dark and it is light. It is filled with detail and is enormous in size.

Today, I am grateful for the Gilcrease Museum; a gem in the heart of my hometown.

Peace and Love,
Jerry