Woody Crumbo facts for kids

Woodrow Wilson Crumbo (January 21, 1912 – April 4, 1989) was a talented Potawatomi artist, Native American flute player, and dancer. He spent most of his life living and working in the western United States.

Woody Crumbo's paintings are displayed in many important museums. These include the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma also has a large collection of his work. In 1978, Crumbo was honored by being added to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for his amazing art. Oklahoma's Governor George Nigh even named him an "ambassador of good will" in 1982.

Early Life and Learning

Woody Crumbo was born near Lexington, Oklahoma. When his father passed away in 1916, he moved with his mother to Kansas. Sadly, he became an orphan in 1919. After that, he lived with different American Indian families around Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

When he was 17, Crumbo started studying art at the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School. He also began learning to play the Kiowa ceremonial wooden flute. He later performed as a solo flutist with the Wichita Symphony.

At 19, Crumbo earned a scholarship to the Wichita American Indian Institute. He graduated three years later as the top student. He continued his studies at Wichita State University from 1933 to 1936. There, he learned about murals, watercolors, painting, and drawing. In 1936, Crumbo went to the University of Oklahoma for two more years of art study.

A Career in Art and Culture

While studying art, Crumbo supported himself by being a Native American dancer. In the early 1930s, he traveled to different reservations across the United States. He shared and collected traditional dances.

His art career really took off when his mentor, Susie Peters, sold some of his paintings. These were bought by the San Francisco Museum of Art. After this, Crumbo became the Director of Art at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, from 1938 to 1941.

In 1939, the U.S. Department of the Interior asked him to paint murals. These special paintings were for the walls of their building in Washington D.C. A few years later, he helped organize a collection of Native American art. This was for the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Crumbo's famous "peyote bird" design even became the museum's official logo!

He was also asked to paint two murals for the U.S.S. Oklahoma battleship. Sadly, both murals were destroyed when the ship was attacked at Pearl Harbor.

Living in New Mexico

From 1948 to 1960, Crumbo lived in Taos, New Mexico. He showed his art in many exhibitions. He became well-known both in the U.S. and around the world. This was partly because he used printing techniques to make many copies of his original artworks.

In the 1950s, Crumbo became interested in finding minerals. He found valuable deposits of ore, including a large amount of beryllium. This discovery was worth a lot of money.

Later Work and Helping Others

Woody Crumbo's main passion was always art. He worked as the Assistant Director of the El Paso, Texas Museum of Art from 1960 to 1967. He was briefly the Director in 1968.

He then left to focus on his own art and help others. He helped the Isleta Pueblo Indians in New Mexico gain federal recognition. He also gave money to help the Potawatomi people build a cultural center near Shawnee. In 1973, he moved near Checotah, Oklahoma. There, he continued to create and promote Native American art. In 1978, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Crumbo's art was featured in a major exhibition. It was called Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting. This show was at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center from 2019 to 2021.

Death

Woody Crumbo moved to Cimarron, New Mexico in 1988. He passed away there in 1989. His body was brought back to Okmulgee, Oklahoma for burial.