Woody Crumbo
At the urging of Mr. Doug (Bucky) Buck, I was prompted to revisit a true art treasure in Nowata. In 1943, the noted Native American artist Woody Crumbo (1912-1989) was commissioned to paint a mural in the Nowata post office. I’ve been in this Post Office many hundreds of times since about 1955, but have never before really studied or appreciated the work or the man behind it. I’m not aware of many public building murals that he did outside of some at the federal Dept. of The Interior in Washington D.C. The majority of his non-mural work survives in museums across the country as well as in the Queen of England’s collection. He led an extraordinary life as a War Dancer, Indian culturist, Artist, Prospector, art curator, etc. Bucky was lucky enough to have known Mr. Crumbo personally. Woody’s bio as well as some of his work can be seen at http://frisk.ws/WoodyCrumbo.htm or http://kosharehistory.org/museum/crumbo.html
Below is the view of the Nowata mural ( ‘Rainbow Trail’ ), as well as some close ups. I hope that this work can be preserved for many years to come… It still looks really good after 66 years. Click an image to enlarge.
I’ve seen this mural many, many times and never knew about the artist.
Thanks for sharing this.
Awesome! Man I’ve always liked that mural and you did a great job of capturing it.
Woody Crumbo was a fabulous artist. I once had an opportunity to buy a portfolio of his prints at an estate sale and passed on it. Shoulda done it.
Wow that is amazing. I have some of Woody’s work not know that the mural at the post office was by him. Although I never met him, I was in his home. After he died they had an auction at his home and I bought a couple of his lithographs. Since then, I found one in a little antique shop in Ocheleta.
That’s pretty cool, Allen.
Wahnishi(Lenape form of Thank You)Wahnishi Franklin Everett Wallace you are quite a prolific blogger and photograher! As usual just ask and you shall recieve and looks like other people enjoy your work on Woody! Again Wahnishi Bucky
Hi, I was doing some research and happened across your blog. A friend has 5 Woody Crumbo serigraphs that she would like to sell. Do you happen to know anyone who might be interested?
The ones she has are:
Flute Dancer
Crow Dancer
Tail Dancer
Feather Dancer
and Dog Soldier
If you or someone else is interested, I can email you photos. My email address is ConniKremer@comcast.net
Thank you,
Conni