John & Eleanor Kirkpatrick

Leonard Doyle McMurry, Bust of Eleanor Kirkpatrick, Bronze, c. 1961. Courtesy Oklahoma Hall of Fame Archives.

Inducted: John in 1962 & Eleanor in 1975

Hometown: Oklahoma City

Patrons of the  Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center, Science Museum Oklahoma, Kirkpatrick Foundation and Kirkpatrick Family Fund

Married in 1932, John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick spent nearly 65 years together. Over the course of their marriage, they contributed to Oklahoma's cultural community, funding science and art education through their success in the oil and gas industry. They influenced numerous projects that helped define Oklahoma's cultural community, including helping to establish a permanent home for the Oklahoma City Art Center, the predecessor to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. 

John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. 

In the 1950s the Kirkpatricks made their first notable donation to Oklahoma City's artistic community, giving $250,000 for a building at Oklahoma's State Fair Park for the Oklahoma Art Center. Prior to that, in 1945, Eleanor aided director Nan Sheets, also featured in this exhibit, and the Center by conceiving of and chairing the first Beaux Arts Ball. To this day, the annual fundraiser benefits acquisitions for the institution and continues in 2021 with the 75th Beaux Arts Ball in Oklahoma City. 

Majestic Lincoln statue draws admiring smiles from Dean Krakel, left, and the donors, Mr. and Mrs. John Kirkpatrick, February 1969. Photo by Dave Heaton. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

The Kirkpatricks' mission to help educate Oklahomans in the arts and sciences started in the 1950s and continues through the philanthropic interests of the Kirkpatrick Foundation and the Kirkpatrick Family Fund, whose contributions helped found the Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center.

Mr. and Mrs. John E. Kirkpatrick look at their busts, January 1961. Photo by George Tapscott. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.