Endowment for the Gilcrease Museum's Chief Conservator's Position

FAIN: CH-50940-12

Gilcrease Museum Management Trust (Tulsa, OK 74104-9700)
Duane King (Project Director: May 2011 to August 2015)
James Pepper-Henry (Project Director: August 2015 to October 2016)

Endowment for the position of Chief Conservator for care of the Gilcrease Museum's collections of art and artifacts of the American West.

The Gilcrease Museum respectfully requests an NEH Challenge Grant of $400,000 to help establish an endowment of the chief conservator’s position. Providing excellent exhibitions and programs that reflect humanities perspectives is closely tied to preservation. In July 2008, the City of Tulsa and The University of Tulsa entered into a partnership agreement to transfer stewardship of the Gilcrease Museum to the University. This new partnership and the public support that it has generated (more than $18 million in unrestricted funding and additional support since 2008) is helping the Gilcrease Museum bolster its staffing needs and collection care. Establishing an endowed chief conservator’s position is a significant step to achieving a higher level of care and better use of collections for humanities based programming and exhibitions.