Few Oklahoma families have deeper roots in the state than the family of Eugene Brady Adkins. His father, Eugene Sloan Adkins, born in Chouteau, owned and ran Muskogee’s Adkins Hay & Feed Co., which he established in 1917. His mother, Bess Brady Adkins, was a member of the pioneer Brady family of Tulsa. His grandfather, W. Tate Brady, who came to Indian Territory at age 17, was one of Oklahoma’s most prominent early-day citizens – a developer, entrepreneur and civic leader in Tulsa. Tate Brady opened a mercantile store on Main Street in 1890, and in 1900, built the famous Brady Hotel, Tulsa’s original first-class hotel. The Brady home, where Eugene Adkins’ mother grew up, was modeled after Robert E. Lee’s mansion and remains one of Tulsa’s most impressive residences. The home is located in Brady Heights, and residents raised funds during Oklahoma’s Centennial year to place a monument at the entrance to the neighborhood recognizing the “Tulsa Spirit,” a term coined by Tate Brady.

Educated at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, and Santa Fe, NM, Eugene earned a degree in art history at Dartmouth College and a graduate degree in business at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. He served as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War and was a member of the Society of the Children of the Confederacy. During his early years, Gene spent the summers in Santa Fe, where he acquired a strong interest in Southwestern history and art. Gene was well versed in Western art and was considered an authority on Western paintings and Native American pottery, baskets and jewelry; the collection he amassed is evidence of his expertise.

The Adkins Collection is among the nation’s most important private collections of works by the Taos artists as well as Native American works of art. It totals more than 3,300 objects in a number of categories, including 1,100 two-dimensional works, 370 pieces of pottery, more than 1,600 examples of jewelry and silverwork, and nearly 250 pieces of other Native arts.

In announcing the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and Philbrook Museum of Art’s joint stewardship of the collection, Ted M. Riseling, chairman of the Adkins Foundation Board, said, “The Adkins Foundation Board is extremely pleased with the proposal from the University of Oklahoma and Philbrook Museum of Art. We are looking forward to working with both institutions to provide a home for this magnificent collection and are excited about the educational opportunities the proposal provides. We feel very fortunate to share this collection with the people of Oklahoma and the many visitors who will be able to enjoy Mr. Adkins’ generosity.”

“The Eugene Adkins Collection further solidifies the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at OU as one of the leading university art museums in the entire nation,” OU President David L. Boren said. “It also means the university’s museum will have a collection of work done by the master artists of the Taos art colony which is unexcelled by any art museum in the country.”