Robby McMurtry

• Born 1950 · Died 2012-08-01

Though his work centered around (almost exclusively) Native American subjects and he often served in posts usually considered the province of Native American, McMurtry was not himself Native. He grew up in Loco, Texas, and attended the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Oklahoma but his interests did not align with the school's emphasis on abstract art and he failed out of the art program early. He did complete a Bachelor's degree in English from the University McMurtry, in addition to his comics work, created easel art and sculpture, several pieces of which are in Native national collections, including a piece in the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. He worked as an instructor in the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center's Arts Explosion program. He was awarded the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association's Rosebud Award for Temporary Exhibits for a show at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center's museum. He was the Cherokee Nation's Artist in Residence and the Creek Nation's Cultural Coordinator. On August 1, 2012, responding to a call indicating a potential suicide, deputies from the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office went to McMurty's home. They found McMurtry distraught and wielding a machete. When the deputies approached him, he became threatening and they discharged their firearms, killing McMurtry.