Thomas Gilcrease [SEP] cause of death
financial difficulties for Gilcrease. Although his oil income was not insubstantial, major collection purchases limited his cash flow and placed him in a position of being unable to meet his current debt. Concerned about the integrity of his collection, Gilcrease offered it for sale as a unit in 1954. Swift action by the people of Tulsa enabled the debt to be covered by a local bond issue, and the collection remained in Oklahoma.
Thomas Gilcrease died of a heart attack on May 6, 1962. After a funeral service based on
was fully repaid. In the years following the transfer of the collection, Thomas Gilcrease continued to fund archaeological excavations and acquire additional materials for the collection. Upon his death in 1962, he bequeathed to the museum the material he had collected during his final years.
Many famous American artists have their work displayed in "Gilcrease Museum's American West Gallery". Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, Thomas Moran, and Joseph Henry Sharp are featured prominently. Also on display at the Gilcrease Museum are works by Charles Marion Russell,