Woody Crumbo
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| Woodrow "Woody" Crumbo | |
| Born | January 21, 1912 Lexington, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Died | April 4, 1989 |
| Occupation | Artist |
Woodrow "Woody" Crumbo (January 21, 1912 – April 4, 1989) was a Native American artist, flautist, dancer and prospector born of the Potawatomi tribe whose paintings are exhibited in a number of prominent museums, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1] A 1978 inductee into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame,[2] Crumbo became an "ambassador of good will" for Oklahoma in 1982 under appointment by Governor George Nigh.[1]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born near Lexington, Oklahoma, Crumbo moved to Kansas as a child after the death of his father in 1916.[3] Orphaned in 1919, he spent the rest of his childhood living with various American Indian families around Sand Springs, Oklahoma.[3] When Crumbo was 17, he began studying art at the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, also taking up the study of the Kiowa ceremonial wooden flute,[3] an instrument with which he would eventually be spotlighted in performance with the Wichita Symphony.[4] He earned a scholarship to the Wichita American Indian Institute, graduating as valedictorian to continue his studies at Wichita University and the University of Oklahoma.[3][1]
[edit] Professional career
While studying art, Crumbo supported himself as a Native American dancer, touring reservations across the United States in the early 1930s disseminating and collecting traditional dances.[4] His art career was cemented when his teacher from the Chilocco Indian School sold a number of his painting to the San Francisco Museum of Art.[4] Subsequently, Crumbo joined the Bacone College in Muskogee as "director of art" from 1938-1941 and a few years later curated a collection of Native American art at the Thomas Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa.[4]
In the 1950s, Crumbo bought a $3 mail-order mineral identification kit, with the information from which he took up prospecting with fellow artist Max Evans; the two found deposits of ore worth millions, including a vein of beryllium that the New Mexico School of Mines identified at the time as "among the greatest beryllium finds in the nation."[1] He later served as Assistant Director of the El Paso, Texas Museum of Art from 1960-1967 and briefly as Director in 1968, before leaving to work independently and explore humanitarian efforts.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Curtis, Gene. (August 31, 2007) Only in Oklahoma: Indian artist's prospects panned out Tulsa World. Accessed September 12, 2007.
- ^ Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Directory by name. Oklahoma Heritage. Accessed September 12, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Woody Crumbo: a legacy of culture and keeper of the plains. Mid-America All Indian Center. Accessed September 12, 2007.
