Gilcrease Museum

 

When the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and created a new nation – the United States of America - few colonists-turned-citizens could foresee the great struggles that lay before it in the centuries to come. Forging a Nation explores those struggles—the history of the US—as told through art, artifacts, and archival materials that illuminate some three hundred years of a shared cultural experience.

The American Art-Union, based in New York City, was founded in 1844 with the goal of fostering the arts in America through education and publication. Modeled after European organizations, the American Art-Union sought to establish a national aesthetic in the United States and unite all regions of the country through art.

This lavishly illustrated volume presents the life and work of Cherokee woodcarver Willard Stone. Four authors, including staff of the Gilcrease Museum and one of Stone’s grandsons, provide insight into the artist’s biography, his carving techniques, his sources of inspiration, and his legacy as an Oklahoma artist. Referring to himself as a “folklorist in wood,” Stone carved his philosophy of life into his works, creating stories that glowed with universal truths and resonated with his own personality. In addition to his ability to create beautiful forms, it is his gift of storytelling that lends the carvings of Willard Stone their profound mark of distinction.