Gilcrease Museum
One of the United States' premier places to explore the history and art of the American continent, the Gilcrease Museum is home to a vast and thorough collection of artifacts and art representing the American West. The museum educates visitors about the ethnography of Native American cultures, the art of the Great Plains, and the country's love affair with the Wild West, among other subjects. Guests can see over 10,000 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures dating from colonial times to present day, including works by Winslow Homer, John Singleton Copley and John Singer Sargent. The anthropology collection boasts more than 250,000 specimens of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo-American cultures, while items such as a Thomas Jefferson letter, the 1521 Cortez Decree and copies of the Declaration of Independence are found in the museum's archives.
To enjoy the museum's location in the rolling country hills northwest of Tulsa, visitors can take free tours of the Gilcrease's numerous themed gardens. Sprawling across 460 acres, gardens such as the Pre-Columbian Garden, Garland Kilmer Colonial Garden and Pioneer Garden reflect time periods in the American West.
The Gilcrease Museum has a variety of lovely facilities for events: the Vista Room, lined with windows, can accommodate 200 to 400 guests; Helmerich Hall can hold up to 400 people for a cocktail reception; and the Tom Gilcrease, Jr., Auditorium is ideal for presentations. The Osage Restaurant, which serves an eclectic menu to visitors daily, can also be rented for private affairs. The Gilcrease Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Free garden tours run Saturday, May, June, September and October, at 1 PM. Admission to the museum is $8 for adults and free for children. For more information: 918-596-2700
