Gordon Waverly Gilkey (March 10, 1912 – October 28, 2000) was an American artist, educator, and promoter of the arts from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native Oregonian, he served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

collecting art stolen by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s for which he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and other accolades. He later served as the first dean of the College of Liberal Arts at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

and worked for the Portland Art Museum.

Early life

Gilkey was born in

Linn County, Oregon Linn County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2023 census population estimates, the population was 131,496. The county seat is Albany, Oregon, Albany. The county Oreg ...

. He began teaching art in 1930 as a student teacher at Albany College (now Lewis & Clark College). In 1936, he was the recipient of the first

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

(MFA) ever to be awarded by the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. From 1937–1939, he produced the architectural

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

s for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

and wrote the official book for that event, published by

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjori ...

. He joined the art faculty of

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

in 1939, where he remained for three years until he began his military service. He married Vivian E. Malone (1912–1996), also of Albany, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1939. Vivian was by then a violin student at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. She was also a graduate of the University of Oregon and performed regularly in Oregon all her life.

World War II service

While serving in

, Gilkey wrote President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, requesting a unit be established to review military tactics to help minimize damage to art and architecture in

. Roosevelt saw merit in the suggestion and directed General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

to award Gilkey command of that unit. When hostilities ceased, Gilkey was assigned to track down and confiscate

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

art throughout the defeated

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. In the process of those duties, he met and interviewed many of Europe's greatest, 20th century artists. Upon returning home, Gilkey spent much of his life promoting the work of European artist throughout the United States via the International Print Exchange, which he founded from his home in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

. For these and subsequent efforts, he was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and given similar honors by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The United States awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal. In 1997, he was promoted in rank to Officer of the National Order of the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

'' by the French government.

Academic career

Following World War II, Gilkey became chairman of the art department at

and held that position for fifteen years. He staffed his department with many prominent artists of the Northwest School, including Nelson Sandgren, Demetrios Jameson, Paul Gunn, and Robert Huck. He was then appointed to dean of the newly created

Oregon State University College of Liberal Arts Oregon ( , ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much ...

in 1973. His tenure at Oregon State lasted 30 years. While at OSU, Gilkey was active on the state and national art scene. In 1964, he was appointed by then-Governor

Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Factions in the Republican Party (United States)#Moderates, moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he se ...

to establish and become the first Chair of the

Oregon Arts Commission The Oregon Arts Commission is a governor-appointed body of nine commissioners who allocate grants for artists based in the U.S. state of Oregon. It receives the bulk of its funding through the National Endowment for the Arts, the state, and the O ...

. His pioneering work lead eventually to the formation of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. He was partially responsible, along with Virginia Fontaine (wife of painter Paul Fontaine), for bringing numerous prints from the Czech Republic to the United States for exhibition in 1968. (''personal communication'') Gilkey was also a professor and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

-in-residence at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He endowed the Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Print Center at the college.

Military service

He retired from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 1977 as a full colonel in the Air Force Reserves, where he was attached for many years to

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

(DIA). During active duty periods in the mid 1960s, he developed special projects for then-U.S. Secretary of Defense

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ...

and for the U.S.

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

Later life and death

Retiring from OSU in 1977, Gilkey served as

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of prints and drawings at the Portland Art Museum for the balance of his life. He brought his collection of over 7,000 prints to the museum, which he then built into a world-renowned inventory of over 25,000 works of art on paper. The museum's Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for the Graphic Arts was inaugurated in 1993. He was active as a curator up until his death in 2000. Gilkey died in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

at the age of 88. He is survived by his beloved granddaughter, the educational researcher and evaluator Elizabeth Mae (Liz) Gilkey. He died proud of his son, Gordon Spencer Gilkey (1950-2024), who was a brilliant home design and renovation expert who passed painlessly and living his best life in Mazatlán, Mexico.

References

External links

Gordon Gilkey Oral History Interview, June 27, 1980The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic ArtGordon Gilkey prints from Lewis & Clark College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilkey, Gordon Oregon State University faculty 1912 births 2000 deaths People from Albany, Oregon People from Corvallis, Oregon Artists from Portland, Oregon University of Oregon alumni Stephens College faculty Lewis & Clark College alumni Lewis & Clark College faculty United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Air Force colonels American printmakers Officers of the Legion of Honour Pacific Northwest College of Art faculty United States Army Air Forces officers