TULSA — The nationally renowned Gilcrease Museum of American Art has invited elementary artists from Pea Ridge to put on a 50-piece art exhibition at a gallery hall in Tulsa, Okla., this summer.

This will mark the second year in succession that the Pea Ridge Elementary schools will have artists to have their work displayed at the Gilcrease. Pea Ridge will be one of 12 schools in 2010 to have such an opportunity to showcase their students’ talents.

The exhibit will be June22 through July 18 at the art institution located just off U.S. Hwy. 412 in west Tulsa. The students who have their artwork selected to be put on display, as well as their parents, will be honored at a reception in late June. All artwork will be selected from among the student work done in art classes this year.

The Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa was founded in 1949, although it had a brief history in the city of San Antonio, Texas. Thomas Gilcrease, a member of the Creek Nation of Oklahoma, received a 160-acre tract which happened to be right over the most productive oilfield in the U.S., the Glenn Pool. His involvement with the oil business made Gilcrease very wealthy and he used his wealth to collect and preserve as much native American and western art as possible. Gilcrease’s efforts to build a successful museum of American art in San Antonio was largely ignored and so he decided to move his collection of art and artifacts back to his hometown of Tulsa.

The museum was eventually deeded to the City of Tulsa, which just last year entered into an agreement with the University of Tulsa for joint ownership/supervision of the institution.

School, Pages 9 on 01/13/2010