901 E. Central, Anadarko, OK 73005, US
About the Artists
Allan Houser
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Hyatt Huntington
In 1914, Allan (Haozous) Houser was born 1914 to Sam and Blossom Haozous on the family farm near Apache, Oklahoma and Fort Sill. He was the first member of his family from the Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache tribe born outside of captivity since Geronimo’s 1886 surrender and the tribe's imprisonment by the U.S. government. The tribe had been led in battle by the legendary spiritual leader Geronimo, relied on his grandnephew Sam Haozous, Allan’s father, to serve as his translator.
In 1934, Allan saw a notice at the Indian Office in Anadarko, OK inviting applicants to join the Painting School at the Santa Fe Indian School taught by Dorothy Dunn. He applied and much to his father’s chagrin, he was accepted. Dunn's method encouraged working from personal memory, avoiding techniques of perspective or modeling, and stylization of Native iconography. Allan was one of Dunn's top students, but he found the program too constricting. It was while at the school that he changed his name, having been “suggested” to do so by the school administrators.
In 1939, Houser began his professional career by showing work at the 1939 New York World's Fair and the Golden Gate International Exposition. He received his first major public commission to paint murals at the Main Interior Building in Washington, DC. He also married Anna Maria Gallegos of Santa Fe, his wife for 55 years.
Allan Houser died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of eighty in August 1994. He was fortunate to have had a long and successful career.
After his death, he continued to receive prestigious honors. Among these was the installation of 19 monumental works of art in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympics, and a retrospective of 69 works at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. in 2004—2005.
The Southern Plains Indian Museum, located to the west of our facility, also has several of Allan's pieces.
Allan created the sculpture of Hosteen Klah in our sculpture garden. For more information on Allan Houser, his works and his legacy, visit his website.
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (March 10, 1876 – October 4, 1973) was an American sculptor and was once among New York City's most prominent sculptors. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she exhibited often, traveled extensively and won international acclaim, awards and commissions
Anna was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 10, 1876. Her father Alpheus Hyatt was a professor of paleontology and zoology at Harvard University and MIT. He offered encouragement in her interest in animal anatomy. She studied with Henry Hudson Kitson in Boston. However he dismissed her when she identified anatomical deficiencies in his equine likeness. In addition to studying with many of the leading artists of the day, she spent many hours at zoos and circuses studying animals.
In 1932, Huntington was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, one of the first women to be awarded that acclaim. Huntington contracted tuberculosis in 1927 and survived.
She and her husband donated $100,000 to underwrite the National Sculpture Society (NSS) Exhibition of 1929. They also founded fourteen museums and four wildlife preserves.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington died October 4, 1973 in Redding, Connecticut. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York City.
The following sculptures in the museum were created by Ms. Hyatt Huntington:
- Howling Wolf Pair
- Bear and Cubs
Betty Butts
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Betty Butts
Ms. Butts created the following sculptures in the museum:
- Lewis Tewanima
- Cochise
- Victorio
- Black Hawk
- Sitting Bull
- Opothle Yahola
- Ousamequin Massoit
Dan Pogue
Electra Waggoner
Betty Butts
Originally from Oklahoma, Dan Pogue now resides near Marble Falls, Texas.
He has been recognized as an award-winning bronze sculptor. He studied under international sculptor, Keating Donahue, in Oklahoma City. His designs continue to intrigue and delight the viewers. From 1970 until 2013, he has operated his own art bronze foundry. He also has a gallery where his sculpture is displayed.
Master Sculptor, Pogue has fifty years experience in all aspects of designing, molding, casting and creating bronze sculpture and just the right patina for each sculpture. Dan’s public art is exhibited worldwide. Many of his life size and monumental sculptures have been placed at churches, libraries, universities, memorial parks, and other public and private locations. His work includes commissions of religious sacred art and other figures, and portraits of well-known people for memorials. Other works of art include figurative, portraits, impressionism and some wildlife, that he has cast in limited editions.
Dan cast the sculpture of Simon Walkingstick for the museum. For more information about his work, visit his website.
Electra Waggoner
Electra Waggoner
Electra Waggoner
Electra Waggoner Biggs (November 8, 1912 – April 23, 2001) was an American socialite and sculptor from Texas.
She was born on November 8, 1912, named after her late aunt, Electra Waggoner, she was known as Electra II. Her father, E. Paul Waggoner, was an heir to the Waggoner Ranch in Texas. Her mother Helen was a socialite.
Electra II’s artistic talents as a sculptor gained her as much notoriety as the Waggoner name. She spent most of her childhood in the family’s home on Summit Avenue in Fort Worth. Her mother organized a school in their backyard for Electra and seven other students. They eventually outgrew the backyard and a larger school was opened just down the street.
Once Electra turned 13, she was enrolled in Miss Wright’s Boarding School in Pennsylvania. It was a difficult transition for Electra, who had never been away from her. But she soon discovered a love of art, especially sculpture. After finishing school, she traveled to New York to study sculpting. She also spent a year studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. She met and married Gordon Bowman in 1933. The tumultuous relationship ended in divorce two short years later. Concerned she might never return to her home in Texas, her father built her a ranch of her own on the Waggoner, the Santa Rosa Roundup Ranch. She returned home but continued her love affair with sculpting and was gaining quite the reputation as an artist. In 1943, Electra married John Biggs, a Texas who worked for International Paper Company. Her brother-in-law was the president of General Motors, he later named a Buick model for her.
Biggs was a renowned sculptor. Her works include a statue, Riding Into the Sunset, of actor Will Rogers on his horse Soapsuds. A large collection of her works can be found at the Red River Valley Museum in Vernon, Texas.
She died on April 23, 2001.
Our sculpture of Will Rogers was created by Electra.
John Learned
Electra Waggoner
Electra Waggoner
Mr. Learned sculpted the bust of Little Raven in our statuary garden.
Joseph Boulton
Kenneth F. Campbell
Keating Donahue
Joseph Boulton is responsible for creating the statue of Logan Billingsley .
Keating Donahue
Kenneth F. Campbell
Keating Donahue
Keating Donahue created the bust of Black Beaver in the garden.
Kenneth F. Campbell
Kenneth F. Campbell
Kenneth F. Campbell
Mr. Campbell created the following busts:
- Chief Joseph
- Pocahontas
- Allen Wright
- Hiawatha
- Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr.
Leonard McMurry
Roland Whitehorse
Kenneth F. Campbell
Mr. McMurry was responsible for many of our gorgeous pieces. His works in our garden include:
- Sequoyah
- General Tinker
- Tecumseh
- Geronimo
- Jim Thorpe
- John Ross
- Stand Watie
- Pushmatah
- Tishomingo
- Sacajewea
- Roberta Lawson
- Jose Maria
- Pascal Poolaw
Pietro Montana
Roland Whitehorse
Roland Whitehorse
The bust of Pontiac was one of Pietro Montana's works.
Roland Whitehorse
Roland Whitehorse
Roland Whitehorse
Mr. Whitehorse created the busts of Kicking Bird and Tohausan for the museum.