Augusta Metcalfe (November 10, 1881–May 9, 1971) is a 1983

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an edu ...

inductee. Metcalfe, a genuine product of the West, is widely recognized as one of its foremost painters.

Life

Augusta Metcalf was born Augusta Isabella Corson on November 10, 1881, in

Vermillion, Kansas Vermillion is a city in Marshall County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 76. History Vermillion was founded in 1869 by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was named from the Black Vermillion River. ...

. Metcalf's parents originated from Pennsylvania. They moved to Illiinois briefly. Then they moved to Kansas where Metcalfe was born. Then they moved from Kansas with their four children to Oklahoma in 1886. In 1886 when they moved to Oklahoma, it was to what is now known as the Oklahoma Panhandle. It was known at that time as

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

, which was being applied to the Public Land Strip. While they lived there, the 1890 Organic Act made the strip part of

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

, which brought it homestead rights. In 1893, the Corsons claimed a homestead at the mouth of Turkey Creek on the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

near

Durham, Oklahoma Durham is a rural unincorporated community in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. It lies along State Highway 30, four miles south of the Antelope Hills and the Canadian River. The Oklahoma-Texas border is four miles to the west. The ...

. Durham is in the Western half of Oklahoma Territory which would become Day County. Later it would become Roger Mills County. Metcalfe was raised on that homestead. With neither school attendance or art lessons, she still won first prize in the state fair in 1911 for one of her paintings. It was here on this 640 acres that Metcalfe lived her remaining years.

Career

Metcalfe was often referred to as "the Sagebrush Artist" due to her use of oils and watercolors. She used these types of paints to produce images that came from her own experiences of ranch life in Oklahoma in its early years. In 1905, Metcalf married James Metcalfe. They had one child, Howard Metcalfe. In 1908, James left them. She took up the ranch operations but always found time to paint her scenery of western life. Her paintings were awarded prizes in state fairs and shows. Her paintings were displayed in galleries, including

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1950, Life Magazine featured reproductions of some of her art. She was inducted into the

Oklahoma Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Cer ...

in 1968.

Legacy

Metcalfe died on May 9, 1971, in Oklahoma. The former homestead of Augusta Metcalf was made into a museum after her death. The estate is now referred to as the Break O' Day Farm & Metcalfe Museum. The site is on the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Roger Mills Coun ...

. The acreage of the property is still 640 acres. There are many exhibits on the property.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corson, Augusta Isabella 1881 births 1971 deaths People from Roger Mills County, Oklahoma People from Marshall County, Kansas 20th-century American painters Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees Ranchers from Oklahoma Artists of the American West 20th-century American women painters