Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art(9)

SHAWNEE

I was in Shawnee for some other business and I had some time to roam around and see what I could get into. Being your friendly neighborhood museum crawler, I naturally looked up local museums. I just so happened to find one of Oklahoma's oldest art museums right there in Shawnee. WOW!

Founded in 1919 by a Benedictine monk named Father Gregory Gerrer, this museum exhibits both the padre's artwork as well as some of the art and artifacts that he collected on his world travels. And believe me when I tell you there are some pretty impressive things in this collection of works like suits of armor, paintings, a mummy, and a few shrunken heads! His travels took him to multiple areas in Africa, Europe, and South America. When he received a scarab as a gift, he knew part of his life's mission was to bring art back to his home in Shawnee. That was in 1903 before we were even a state! As he traveled the world, his collection of art and antiquities kept getting more and more extensive with Egyptian, Native American, and Oceanic cultures. And now, we're the beneficiaries of his forethought to collect along the way.

In addition to being a great art collector, Father Gerrer also developed into a well respected painter himself. In order to gain pieces for the museum he wanted to have, he would often trade his paintings for an artifact or relic. Good idea! He always knew he wanted to share his collection with world and not keep it hidden in a vault somewhere (Like his bosses? Looking at you, Vatican!) One side of the museum was dedicated to some of the paintings that he had done in the most beautiful places our planet has to offer. It really gives you the sense that he wasn't just traveling the world, but he was gathering the world to bring back to us. He knew that some, if not most, of the people in Indian Territory, later Oklahoma, would never get the chance to see the things he saw. And so, the Mabee-Gerrer Museum exists. It's for us to see a world we might not get to see.

1900 W. Macarthur St.

Shawnee, Oklahoma

405-878-5300

https://www.mgmoa.org/

9 of 523 - Jonathan Elmore ©2025