Description

This two-story building is a modest example of the Collegiate Gothic style applied to an elementary school. The stone quoins, arched entries, and tracery work on the facade reflect Gothic influences, though the building lacks the verticality typical of Gothic structures. Decorative stone coping marks the tops of the walls and this horizontality is echoed by a projecting stone cornice that encircles the building. Recessed double-doors framed by an arched entry and surrounded by sidelights and transom provide entry to the building.

Wilson School has always had an emphasis on the arts. When it was established it served the Heritage Hills neighborhood of Oklahoma City, then one of the “up and coming” neighborhoods in the city. During the New Deal, this school acquired several artworks created as a result of PWAP and WPA/FAP projects. The PWAP project led to the creation of two sizeable murals for the nursery and primary rooms in 1934. Several years later the school acquired easel paintings produced by the Indian artists Acee Blue Eagle and White Buffalo. These easel paintings were a result of their involvement with the WPA/FAP. While the murals were produced specifically for the school, it is unlikely that the easel paintings were. Nevertheless, this unusual concentration of New Deal art in the school makes it extraordinary. These artworks are described below.

Nursery Rhyme Characters

by Audre Yates, 1934 (oil on canvas)

The Circus

by Audre Yates. 1934 (oil on canvas).

These two murals are approximately 3 ½ feet wide by 28 feet long. They were designed by Yates for the school’s nursery and primary rooms, respectively. It is not clear if Nursery Rhyme Characters is the title that Yates gave that mural.

These murals were ideally suited for their locations in the school. Although the characters themselves lack firm identification, the fanciful costuming and whimsical animals compare closely to the illustrations found in contemporary children’s books. Yates’ s simplified, pillowy forms not only imitate those of juvenile Literature but al so character of Max Fleischer’s animations. The pastel colors would have enhanced the visual appeal for young children.

Dancer

attributed to Herbert White Buffalo. 1940.

Although the name White Buffalo has been used by a number of Native American artists in the twentieth century, the Cheyenne Herbert White Buffalo is the likely creator of Dancer, which was painted for the Federal Art Project around 1940. Little is known about White Buffalo’s career, however. He lived in Concho, Oklahoma for most of his life on the Southern Cheyenne portion of the Arapaho-Cheyenne Reservation. It is unclear whether he had any professional training, but it is possible that he received some education at either Fort Sill Indian School or perhaps the University of Oklahoma. His aesthetic compares closely to that of fellow Cheyenne artist Dick West and the Kiowa artists, all of whom studied at OU and Ft. Sill. The clearly defined contours, simplified anatomy, and stylized movement of Dancer demonstrate a clear familiarity with Traditional Indian Painting.

Dancer may be attributed to Herbert White Buffalo on the basis of subject matter as well. The dancer’s regalia, his eagle bone whistle, and his stare upwards suggest that he is a participant in the Sun Dance. Few dances were as important in the religion life of the Cheyenne as the Sun Dance, and other Cheyenne artists such as West had dealt with the theme. Whereas West often depicted the spectacle of tribal involvement in the Sun Dance, White Buffalo preferred to focus on a single dancer in this painting. The dancer performs in place, never diverting his eyes away from the sun, until he collapses from physical and mental exhaustion. As such, Dancer represents one of the most sacred of all rituals in Cheyenne life and may have been painted from personal experience.

Woman Making Baskets

by Acee Blue Eagle, n.d.

Genre scenes of the Southeastern tribes were popular with Blue Eagle, and he frequently turned his attention to the duties of both men and women in daily life. In Woman Making Baskets, Blue Eagle examines the process of basket weaving among the Southeastern tribes. One woman, probably Creek in affiliation, sits beneath a brush arbor while weaving together various reeds, bark, and roots to form basketry. Blue Eagle has included the various forms of basketry: the tray at left which might be used for processing corn; the two bowls right of center which would be used for transporting materials of varying weight and composition; and finally the container for storing foodstuffs at right. The woman at right enters with a kettle which may contain water for the softening of basket materials.

Knife Dancer

by Acee Blue Eagle, n.d.

Knife Dancer is a composition that Blue Eagle returned to many times throughout his career. The Southern Plains dancer, complete with headdress, performs the simple steps of the knife dance as he holds the blade aloft. The knife dance was a relatively minor dance in powwow culture, but it may allude to Blue Eagle’s increasing interest in the knife dance as practiced by Samoan peoples.

Ready for the Hunt

by Acee Blue Eagle. n.d.

Hunting scenes are common in Traditional Indian Painting, but Blue Eagle’s Ready for the Hunt is relatively unusual in the context of his career, since he preferred genre and dancing scenes. The title references the central hunter, who is armed with bow and arrow in preparation for a bison hunt. Blue Eagle’s inclusion of the two other horses, one of which is a pony, is ambiguous, however, since hunters could not easily switch horses in the middle of a hunt. It is possible that either the title is different from Blue Eagle’s original intention for the painting, or that the artist included the other horses to provide added visual interest. Perhaps, the image depicts a warrior who has just stolen several horses from his enemy. Whatever Blue eagle’s intent, it is clear that he intended the image to be an examination of nineteenth-century Plains life.

Sources

  1. Thematic Survey of New Deal Era Public Art in Oklahoma 2003-2004, Project Number: 03-401 (Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University).
  2. Wilson Elementary celebrating 100 years of artistic history, Nuria Martinez-Keel, The Oklahoman, Oct 4, 2019