With over 2,300 works of art in the OJAC's collection, writing about a table may seem like a strange choice. But I have always admired the stately oak table that stands in the center of the museum's library, and I recently discovered that I am not alone. As described by Fort Worth pediatric surgeon Dick Ellis in his book, Cook Middle Years, many who used the unique oval table "developed an uncanny affection for it."
So how did such a beloved table, originally purchased for a Fort Worth hospital, end up in Albany? This table, along with much of the OJAC's signature Italian Renaissance-style furnishings, has an interesting and full circle history.
In 1926, the famed Cook Ranch Oil Field in Shackelford County began producing an oil flow of 1,000 barrels a day. Ranch owner Missouri Matilda (Dude) Nail Cook used those oil riches to finance the construction and endowment for the W.I. Cook Memorial Hospital in Fort Worth as a memorial to her late husband and daughter. When Cook hospital later merged with Fort Worth Children's Medical Center in the 1980s, much of the original furniture was sent to the Old Jail Art Center in honor of Mrs. Cook. Twenty-two items from the hospital were first received on long-term loan in 1986 and gifted to the museum in 1992.
Photographs from Dr. Ellis' 2010 book record hospital staff seated around the table, volunteers planning the hospital's annual celebrity auction, and even adolescent patients enjoying school lessons around it. In its reincarnation here at the OJAC, it has functioned as a gathering place for staff and board meetings, small receptions, command-central for countless hours of folding, stuffing, and sorting by faithful mail-out committee volunteers, and a quiet respite for study.
This table serves as a witness to almost a century of advancement and achievement in medicine and art. Within its grains, and time-honored abrasions, it holds a history all its own along with our uncanny affection.
Amy Kelly, Registrar
Oval Table, n.d., oak, 29 in. x 86 in. x 43.25 in. Collection of the Old Jail Art Center, Gift of Cook-Fort Worth Children's Medical Center. 1992.122