Britzman Collection: The University of Tulsa Acquires Russell Objects from the FAC

University of Tulsa and Gilcrease Museum acquires Britzman Collection from FAC

Colorado Springs – The University of Tulsa, which manages the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla., has acquired the Britzman Collection from the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. The collection, comprised of 13,000 objects associated with American West artist Charles Marion Russell, was purchased in September. The amount of the purchase is not being disclosed.

The collection was amassed by one of Russell’s biographers, Homer E. Britzman with the active cooperation of the artist’s wife Nancy Russell after Russell’s death in 1926 and was bequeathed to the Fine Arts Center by Helen Britzman in 1972.

When the Britzman Collection was gifted to the Fine Arts Center, 17 works of art were accessioned, or formally accepted, into the FAC Permanent Collection. These 17 artworks were most consistent with the FAC mission and collecting focus and they were not included in this sale.

Many of objects sold are considered ‘archival’ and include a large assortment of personal effects, including paints, brushes and palettes, small hand-molded sculptures of animals, spurs, carved ivory-handled revolver, bullwhips, pajamas, ties, socks, tie tacks, and Indian artifacts; newspaper clippings; personal photos, family photo albums and photographs of his artwork; postcards; copies of poems by Russell; sketches and drawings (studies); and original illustrated letters and envelopes.

“The items involved in the sale did not match our mission or collecting policy,” said Fine Arts Center CEO and President Sam Gappmayer. “We wanted the Britzman Collection to go to an institution that would preserve it and present it as an active resource to the public.

“The Gilcrease Museum is an ideal home for the Britzman Collection,” Gappmayer said. “The museum is well known for its comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West as well as its significant collection of archival materials with over 100,000 items. Now instead of languishing in the FAC storage, the Britzman Collection will be available to the public, Russell enthusiasts, University of Tulsa students, faculty, scholars and publishers.”

“Our acquisition will allow Gilcrease to open new avenues of research into the life and works of one of the American West’s defining artists,” said TU President Steadman Upham. “Having these materials together under one roof will provide unparalleled opportunities for researchers to study the materials in the Russell-Britzman collection within the context of the masterworks at Gilcrease.”