Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art facts for kids
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1919; in current building since 1979 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1900 W. MacArthur, Shawnee, Oklahoma  |
| Type | Art Museum |
The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art is an exciting art museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. It is located on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University. This museum is special because it operates on its own. It even continued to thrive after the university it was once part of closed.
The museum has over 3,500 amazing artworks! These pieces cover more than 6,000 years of history. They come from many different cultures around the world. You can see art from ancient Egypt, China, and even pre-Columbian times. There's also art from Africa, Native America, Europe, and the United States. The museum is home to Oklahoma's only real Egyptian mummies. It also has a special portrait of Pope Pius X. Don't forget to check out the gift shop. It sells fun educational toys and cool crafts made by local artists. The museum also hosts a yearly event called Arts Trek.
Contents
Museum History
The museum is named after Fr. Gregory Gerrer. He was a Benedictine monk and a big fan of art history. He also loved collecting art. Fr. Gerrer traveled all over the world. He visited the United States, Europe, Africa, and South America. During his travels, he collected many artworks and artifacts. He brought them back to Oklahoma to share with everyone.
In 1919, his collection moved to Benedictine Hall. It was first called St. Gregory's Abbey Art Gallery and Museum. A famous artist named G. Patrick Riley visited the museum when he was a child. He said these visits inspired him to become an artist. In 1962, the Gerrer collection was loaned to another museum. But then, a new building was built just for this collection. The Mabee Foundation helped pay for it. The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art opened in its new home in 1979.
Etruscan Treasures Exhibit
The museum once hosted a very special exhibit called "Etruscan Treasures." It was the only place in the United States to show this exhibit. It featured beautiful gold jewelry and artifacts from the Vatican Museums. This was the first time some of the gold jewelry was ever shown to the public. The exhibit ran for several months in 2004. Oklahoma's public TV station even made a documentary about it.
Mummy Research
The museum has two real Egyptian mummies. In 2015, scientists used special machines called CT scans to study them. This happened at St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital. The mummies had also been X-rayed at the same hospital in 1991. The scans showed amazing details about one mummy named Tutu. Her organs were carefully preserved and placed back inside her body. This happened before she was wrapped in linen.
Amazing Collections
The museum's collection started with a special gift in 1903. Fr. Gregory Gerrer was traveling in the Holy Land. Someone gave him an ancient Egyptian scarab. A scarab is a beetle-shaped charm. This one had a hieroglyphic goose symbol on it.
The museum has many incredible artifacts. You can see an ancient Egyptian mummy and its sarcophagus (coffin). There are also ancient Egyptian animal mummies. Other cool items include Roman glass and ancient Greek pottery. You can also find ancient Chinese terracotta figures. There are European ivory carvings and religious icons. The museum even has Venetian armor and shrunken heads! You can also see Mesoamerican stone carvings. The collection also includes Spanish colonial paintings and African masks and bronzes.
The museum also has many famous paintings. Some artists whose work you can see include Guido Reni, Tintoretto, and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. There are also paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme and William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Spanish Colonial Art
The museum has a great collection of Spanish Colonial art. This includes retablos, which are small religious paintings often done on tin. There are also wooden sculptures of saints. One painting, Christ of Ixmiquilpan, is from the early 1800s. It shows a special scene from Mexico City. Some of these Spanish Colonial artworks have also been shown in other museums.
See also
- Fr. Gregory Gerrer
- St. Gregory's Abbey
- St. Gregory's University
- Benedictine Hall
- Oklahoma Baptist University
