Governor Johnston Murray

by Leonard D. McMurry

Johnston Murray was born July 21, 1902, in the mansion of the Chickasaw Nation's Governor at Emet, Johnston County, Indian Territory. His early education was governed by the location of the work of his famous father, former Gov. William H. Murray. After graduation from the Murray State School of Agriculture in 1924, he went to Bolivia where he lived for four years trying to make a success of his father's colonization expedition. He received his law degree in 1946 and served as Governor from January 8, 1951, to January 1955. He served as an attorney with the State Department of Welfare until his death April 16, 1974. He is buried at Tishomingo along with his father.

The Artist

Known as Oklahoma’s own “Michelangelo,” Leonard McMurry was born to a family of prominent cotton farmers in the Texas panhandle. McMurry moved to Oklahoma in 1955 and then lived in Stilwell and Oklahoma City. Under the teachings of sculptors Carl Mose and Ivan Mestrovic, McMurry perfected his craft. His magnificent sculptures of Oklahoma icons can be seen across the state including the ‘89er statue on Couch Drive in Oklahoma City and the Praying Hands that grace the lawns of Oral Roberts University. 

In accordance with Oklahoma’s Diamond Jubilee celebration in 1982, McMurry was commissioned to sculpt busts of 21 past Oklahoma Governors. The Hall of Governors exudes Oklahoman’s pride in her past legislative guardians. Regarding his works, McMurry states, “Each piece must have a soul, a living quality that’s far more important than just physical representation. A piece has to have guts: the strength, power, and dignity, that makes it a monument.” McMurry has accomplished that very feat within the grandiose Hall of Governors in which visitors may come face to face with naturalistic representation of Oklahoma leaders. 

Governor Johnston Murray by Leonard D. McMurry is located in the Hall of Governors on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol and can be viewed daily from 8:30-5:30.