Hill led the museum from 1994 through 2008 and oversaw its transformation from a small underfunded gallery at State Fair Park to one of downtown’s top attractions.
"She’s been a difference for the arts community,” Mayor Mick Cornett said. "She set very high standards that are still benefitting us today. She had a life experience and outsider’s perspective that helped our community grow.”
That outsider’s perspective started with a move to New York City following her high school education. After growing up in Oklahoma City, Hill spent 30 years in New York City where she started as a music teacher at a prestigious girls’ school and then taught at the United Nations International School and conducted orchestras both in New York City and in Europe.
After years of exposure to fine art at homes of some of New York City’s most influential families, Hill left teaching and opened an art gallery in the SoHo. Throughout her years in New York City, Hill maintained ties to Oklahoma City, visiting her family every year.
During those visits her parents showed off every new attraction. And when her father and brother died, Hill returned to Oklahoma City in 1993 to care for her aging mother.
One year later, Hill took the reins of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, which previously had been an underfunded organization housed in an aging building at State Fair Park.
Longtime museum trustee and friend Nancy Ellis remembered Hill as someone who rallied her staff and dared museum supporters to dream big.
"If someone had a problem, or if there was an issue someone was struggling with, Carolyn was always there to help,” Ellis said. "I watched Carolyn work with her staff and encourage them — she loved them; she was their family.”
In a 1998 interview with The Oklahoman, Hill recalled those early days, which included giving trustees and staff a choice: They could pull the plug or get tough about focusing on the museum’s core mission.
"We needed to turn this facility in service of the community,” Hill said. "That’s what it was here for. The trustees deserved that. They love this place — they’ve been keeping it afloat.”
In telling her story, Hill kept to her habit of giving others credit, noting trustees consolidated three locations into one. No debt would be incurred; the museum under Hill would operate under a strict budget.
"We had so little money we could not afford a ream of paper,” Hill said. "We recycled letters and memos that came in to us. We printed and photocopied on the reverse side. I’d get memos from staff and I had to look at both sides to be sure of what I was looking at.”
Such tough decisions resulted in creation of a world class museum, said Bob Ross, museum trustee and president of the Inasmuch Foundation.
"She brought the art museum from the state fairgrounds to the middle of Oklahoma City before we were talking about all the great things we could do with MAPS,” Ross said. "She was talking about rejuvenating downtown with a world class art museum.”
Ross and Ellis both credited Hill with leading efforts to raise money to create a new home for the museum at the former Centre Theater and also gathering support to purchase the popular and initially temporary Dale Chihuly glass exhibit. She also brought national recognition to the museum with exhibits including Roman Art from the Louvre.
"Through her passion for the arts, strong leadership and bold vision, Carolyn Hill transformed the Oklahoma City Museum of Art from a small museum at the fairgrounds into a vibrant and very important cultural component of our city and state,” said Frank Hill, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees. "Equally adept at promoting Roman Art from the Louvre or NBA basketball, Carolyn played a major role in our collective effort to elevate Oklahoma City to the next level.”