Robert Hardee is well known throughout the Ponca City area through the many exhibited prints of his “Ponca City Landmarks” painted from 1985 through 1993. The prints can be found hanging in many businesses and homes throughout the area.
Hardee’s historic landmark paintings include the Arcade Hotel, Downtown Ponca City featuring the Poncan Theatre, the old Rock Island Depot, the early day Ponca City Library; City Hall, which includes the statue of Marland, the Marland Mansion, and the Marland Grand Home. All prints are limited editions and most of the earlier prints are sold out but occasionally come up for sale on Ebay over thirty years after they were created.
Now Pickens Museum is displaying two large murals by Hardee, who passed away in 2008 at age 55. The two murals called “Route 66” and “Route 66 Roadhouse “are on display in the Vineyard Library/Administration Building at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa.”
“These two murals were originally commissioned for a restaurant in Ponca City and on display in their dining room,” says Hugh Pickens, Executive Director of Pickens Museum. “When the restaurant went out of business about 15 years ago, we had the opportunity to purchase the two murals for our collection.”
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