Leslie Powell Gallery

Leslie Powell was a painter and the only child of a local pharmacist who was an original stockholder in the Security Bank and Trust. When the elder Mr. Powell died, Leslie inherited this bank interest, and it formed the nucleus of the Leslie Powell Trust, which was established with three governing trustees and five Board members. This governing structure still exists today.

The Foundation was established in 1983 and the gallery opened in 1986. It initially occupied the second floor of the Little Chapel of Lawton, where it grew though activities such as monthly art exhibits and functions until April 2000. It was then determined that the space available was no longer adequate so the gallery moved to its current location at 620 SW D Ave, where it has continued its art displays, community outreach and support for the arts to this day. In addition to the arts exhibits, the Leslie Powell Foundation solicits requests from the fine arts community for financial needs and has in the past made financial grants for $5000.00-20,000.00 annually.

The current Leslie Powell Trustees are Tom Sutherlin, Robert Ross and Alan Jolly. The Foundation Board consists of five members, two nominated by the Trust, one by Cameron University, One by the City of Lawton and one by the Lawton-Ft. Sill Arts Council. The current members are John Kennedy and Paul Fisher, representing the Trust; Edna McMillan representing Cameron University; Kerry Sweeney, representing the City of Lawton; and David W. Carter, representing the Lawton-Ft. Sill Art Council. Each serves at the pleasure of the represented organizations without term limits. Nancy P. Anderson became Executive Director and curator of the Foundation/Gallery in February of 1989 and continued in her position until her retirement in March of 2015. Upon her retirement, Matthew D. Hughes became the current Executive Director and curator.