TULSA, Oklahoma (Feb. 3, 2026) – Gilcrease Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of a very important collection of Indigenous materials from the Alan J. Hirschfield Family Foundation. Alan and Berte Hirschfield were leading collectors of Indigenous art and advocates for Native communities. The collection contains nearly 300 items of 19th- and 20th-century Indigenous artistry from across the United States and Canada.
In 2024, John Linehan, a friend of Gilcrease who passed away later that same year, connected Berte Hirschfield with Brian Lee Whisenhunt, executive director and chief executive officer of Gilcrease. “As Gilcrease sits on tribal land, this gift from the Hirschfield family allows us to respectfully observe the history of both Native peoples and our own museum,” said Whisenhunt. “We are thankful to the family for their trust in Gilcrease to steward the collection the Hirschfields assembled with love and respect and in solidarity with the Native communities of North America.”
Alan J. Hirschfield, an executive who ran Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, was known as a forward thinker who brought legendary movies to the big screen including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Kramer vs. Kramer,” among others. Noteworthy figures such as Frank Sinatra benefited from the counsel of Alan Hirschfield, who supervised the sale of a stake in Sinatra’s record company to Warner Records. Born in New York, Alan’s family moved to Oklahoma City in 1938 when he was 3. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and received an MBA from Harvard Business School before marrying Berte Schindelheim in 1962. Berte earned a bachelor’s degree from Bennington College in 1960 and a master’s degree in education and counseling at Bank Street College in 1972. She worked in many roles and fields in New York, including counseling, product development, marketing and licensing.
After settling in Wyoming, Alan became co-chief executive of Data Broadcasting Corp., a sought-after provider of financial information and advice. Berte founded and served on the boards of numerous organizations, including Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust and Teton Literacy Foundation.
After Alan’s passing in January 2015 at his home in Wilson, Wyoming, Berte aspired to find an appropriate institution to steward their exquisite collection. Their children continued conversations with Whisenhunt after their mother passed away in January 2025. “By gifting the Hirschfield Collection to an Oklahoma institution, we’re honoring our father’s roots as well as the region’s cultural heritage that inspired him,” said the couple’s children: Marc, Laura and Scott. “This state shaped who he became, and this contribution is our way of giving back to the people who helped form our family’s story. We are certain we have found the right home to care for this precious collection.”
The items in the collection – including basketry, pottery, beadwork, quillwork, works on paper and more – exhibit Indigenous peoples’ adaptability during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chelsea Herr, Gilcrease’s curator of Indigenous art and culture, commented on how the collection will benefit the museum: “The Hirschfield family’s gift is both an ideal complement and a vital expansion of the collections already stewarded at Gilcrease. It represents a number of Indigenous communities with whom we already have relationships, and it also allows us to build new relationships, such as with First Nations communities in Canada.”
In addition to collecting Native art, the Hirschfields’ philanthropic efforts included advocating for Native people of Wyoming. Upon Berte’s death, the family established The Berte Hirschfield Legacy Endowment for education and cultural preservation to benefit the Chief Washakie Foundation on the Wind River Reservation. Years earlier, Berte and Alan were pivotal in funding the Inter-Tribal Center at Central Wyoming Community College, also on the Wind River Reservation.
“I want to thank the Hirschfield family for this incredible gift, which will continue to enhance the cultural life of our city and region,” said Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols. “This collection of Indigenous artistry and history will strengthen our museum’s partnerships within the community and advance our mission to work with our tribal partners to preserve and share the heritage of Native American culture here in Tulsa.”