Gilkey, Gordon

Gordon Waverly Gilkey (1912-2000) was a gifted etcher and printmaker. Gilkey was born in Albany, Oregon, and during the 1930s he served as a student art teacher at Albany College. In 1936, he graduated from the University of Oregon with a Master's of Fine Arts degree, and in 1937, Gilkey was selected to document the 1939 World’s Fair in New York as its official artist. During World War II, Gilkey was assigned command of a military unit that attemped to minimize the theft and destruction of European art. Immediately following the war, Gilkey was assigned the taks of finding and confiscating Nazi propaganda art. After completing his assingment and returning to the United States, Gilkey was hired as the head of the Oregon State University Art department and eventually the Dean of Liberal Arts. After retiring from OSU in 1977, Gilkey became the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Portland Art Museum until his death. During his long career in the arts, Gilkey earned numerous international awards, and was key the founding of a number of advocacy groups for the arts, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Oregon Arts Commission.

From the guide to the Gordon Gilkey Print Collection, 1933-1939, (Lewis & Clark College Special Collections and Archives)