EUGENE–A University of Oregon graduate who helped recover art stolen by the Nazis during World War II will receive the Ellis F. Lawrence Medal from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA).

Gordon Gilkey, who earned the UO’s first master of fine arts degree in printmaking in 1936, will receive the medal, the highest honor awarded by the college, at the school’s commencement ceremony. The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 10, on the East Lawn of the Erb memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave. (RAIN: McArthur Court, 1601 University St.)

During World War II, Gilkey’s army unit located stolen artwork, which was then returned to the original owners. He also helped numerous European artists reclaim their careers by helping them locate teaching positions or by purchasing their works. In 1997, Gilkey received the National Order of the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his war-time efforts.

Gilkey also played an instrumental role in the establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the annual meeting of the national College Art Association in 1965, Gilkey wrote a unanimously adopted resolution urging the U.S. Congress and President Lyndon Johnson to approve legislation establishing the National Foundation for the Arts and Humanities and, under it, the two endowments. Subsequently, he helped establish the Oregon Arts Commission.

He and his late wife Vivian amassed a collection of more than 8,000 prints that are the focal point of the Portland Art Museum’s Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts. He currently serves as resident printmaker and curator of prints and drawings at the center.

Gilkey, an artist best known for his innovative, computer-generated images and monoprints, has taught at his alma mater, Stephens College and the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. He was an art professor and dean of the Oregon State University College of Liberal Arts for 30 years.

To commemorate the award, an exhibition of Gilkey’s master of fine arts thesis, "Etchings of UO Library Construction," is on display through June 12 at the UO Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St.

The Lawrence Medal is awarded by the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts to an alumnus or alumna whose professional and personal achievements embody the integrity, educational philosophy and commitment to his or her chosen field as exemplified by Ellis F. Lawrence. A Portland architect, Lawrence was founder of the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. He served as dean of the school from 1914 until his death in 1946.

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