Thomas Gilcrease sought to tell the story of America through art, with an emphasis on Native American cultures and the history of the American West. The museum founder’s fundamental interest in Native cultures was due in part to his own Muscogee ancestry. Evidence of his interest is dramatically illustrated by the vast amount of Native art and cultural items he gathered. Collectors of Native American art objects often place a premium on them in accordance with their relative age. Gilcrease knew the value of that practice, yet he also knew the importance of collecting contemporary Native art. He was patron to numerous artists of his time and purchased over 500 paintings by 20th-century Native artists. As a result, the museum not only tells the story of Native Americans through exhibition of objects thousands of years old, but also through modern paintings and sculptures.