Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article

March 14, 1993
By Dr. Dipa Sarkar
Vigo County Historical Society

Wilson’s beliefs showed in murals

Gilbert Wilson was born in 1907 in a white frame house located at 1201 N. Fourth St., Terre Haute.

His mother, Martha, was an opera star and his father, Wilton Albert Wilson, was vice president of the First National Bank of Terre Haute. Gilbert’s love for his parents was expressed strongly when he dedicated his first mural at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School to them.

Wilson graduated from Garfield High School in 1925. When at McLean Junior High School, he became involved in the Boy Scout activities which he loved with a passion for the next 30 years.

He believed in the need for mankind to join in brotherhood and portrayed this vividly in one of his murals of our Scouts of red, yellow, black and white races with their arms around each other and her hands clasped together.

After high school, he attended Indiana State Normal, where Dr. William Turman, his art teacher, became a driving force in his life. He then enrolled in the Chicago Art Institute where he won a first Prize of $200 at the Chicago Hoosier Salon. He was introduced to muralist Eugene Savage who was impressed with the young artist and took him as his apprentice at Yale School of Fine Arts.

Financial problems caused him to return to Terre Haute. These difficulties were solved by millionaire C.W. Root, whose company invented the Coca-Cola bottle. He commissioned Wilson to do some murals at his indoor swimming pool and paid him $500.

He then was able to study in Mexico, with Mr. Rivera and later with the Spanish sculptor, Urbici Soler. During this period, he did two busts of Max Erhman and a bust of the Dreiser Memorial.

At the age of 28, he returned to Terre Haute and painted murals on the walls of Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. It took one month finish one wall, named “Machinery.” This mural represented the domination of the society by the “juggernaut” of the modern industrialization.

Gilbert then worked on the south wall where he painted such distinguished citizens of the community as Dr. Turman, George Krietenstein (founder of the local Boy Scouts), and Miss Dawson (his high school teacher).

After months of labor, his second mural, “Social Pattern,” was completed. There was controversy about the murals, the main objections being two inscriptions quoted from the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln.

Frustrated, he went back and added two more--one from Woodrow Wilson and the other he composed. Many praises followed, but he was most proud of a bag of coins totaling $28.35, collected by students.

Murals that Gilbert Wilson did at Indiana University school portrayed his hope for peace and brotherhood. Others were done at Antioch College, State High School and Community Theatre in Terre Haute.

One of his great supporters was Mrs.. Fannie Blumberg, also an artist. She gave him a studio and $2,000 a year to live on.

Wilson produced two films, one of which won an award at Cannes Film Festival. The movie was based on Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” and was composed of about 300 drawings.

He also made two sculpture plaques for Heldentenor Foundation names as “Tristan” and “Isolde.”

Wilson died Jan. 16, 1991, in Frankfort, Ky.

His immortal murals remain at Woodrow Wilson, University School and Talley Memorial Playhouse. He showed his generosity by donating “Moby Dick” paintings and the “Insanity Series” to the Swope Art Museum.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.


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