Carol Caster, Willard Stone, Oil on Canvas, 1986. Courtesy Oklahoma Hall of Fame Archives.
Willard Stone
(1916 - 1985)
Profession: Artist
Hometown: Locust Grove
Inducted: 1970
A talented artist of Cherokee heritage, Willard Stone's creativity and craftmanship in sculpture earned him national recognition. Born in Oktaha, near Locust Grove, Oklahoma, on a sharecropping farm, Stone's preferred creative outlets as a child were drawing and painting, until an unfortunate accident when he was 13 years old caused him to lose his thumb and a portion of two fingers. The injury, however, did not stifle Stone's creativity. He discovered his passion for sculpting with local red clay and wood. Soon, he began to submit artwork to local state fairs in Okmulgee and Muskogee. Grant Foreman, notable Oklahoma historian, recognized his talent and encouraged him to attend Bacone Indian College, now Bacone College, to study art.
While enrolled at Bacone's Indian Art School, Stone studied under notable Native American artists, including Woody Crumbo and Acee Blue Eagle. After graduating in 1939, Stone took on a variety of jobs to support his family. Despite working as an artist-in-residence for Thomas Gilcrease, Tulsa oilman and art collector, in the early 1940s financial hardships left him unable to devote himself to art full time.
By 1961, demand for his wood and ceramic sculptures allowed him to establish a studio in Locust Grove. Known for carving with only a chisel and small pocketknife, Stone was praised for his ability to incorporate wood grain into his designs and his eclectic use of both modern and traditional motifs. Many of his sculptures depict stylized human and animal figures based upon his personal experiences, as well as stories and figures in Cherokee culture. Today Stone's work resides in private and public art collections across the nation, including the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Willard Stone Museum in Locust Grove.