Wender·Vista
Tulsa
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Arkansas River in northeastern Oklahoma

Tulsa

— a downtown built in deco and amber.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city the 1920s built in limestone and terracotta, where the Arkansas River bends and the prairie gives way. Boston Avenue Methodist rises in zigzag deco above the downtown grid. Greenwood remembers. Out east, the Gathering Place runs its slides into the river bluffs. The light, late in the afternoon, takes to the sandstone.

from the studio
Tulsa
— bring it home

Tulsa, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Tulsa

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Tulsa sits in northeastern Oklahoma on the Arkansas River, the second-largest city in the state with a population near 411,000. The land is the historic territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation; the modern city grew from a Creek settlement and expanded after the 1901 Glenn Pool oil strike thirteen miles south. By the late 1920s it called itself the Oil Capital of the World, and the boom money built a downtown of Art Deco towers, churches, and theatres still standing today.

— the stone

Few American downtowns hold as much Art Deco in one walk. Boston Avenue Methodist Church, completed in 1929 to a design by Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff, rises 255 feet in a zigzag of limestone and terracotta and sits on the National Register. The Philtower (1928), the Philcade (1931), and the Tulsa Union Depot trace the same oil-boom money in tower, lobby, and frieze. Bartlett Square anchors the center, and the buff Indiana limestone takes a warm tone in the late afternoon.

— the visit

Two visits anchor a Tulsa day. The Philbrook Museum of Art, the 1927 Italian Renaissance villa of oilman Waite Phillips, holds American and Native American collections in 25 acres of formal gardens south of downtown. Six miles east on Riverside Drive, the Gathering Place opened in 2018, a 66.5-acre riverfront park funded by a $465 million private gift from the George Kaiser Family Foundation. TIME named it one of the World's Greatest Places that year. Both are free to enter; Philbrook charges a gallery admission.

— where
United States · Tulsa County, Oklahoma
— elevation
213 m · 700 ft
— position
36.1540° N · 95.9928° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
75 km N
Bartlesville
city, Price Tower
24 km SE
Broken Arrow
city
90 km NW
Pawhuska
Osage Nation capital
N
Tulsa
Bartlesville
Broken Arrow
Pawhuska
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Tulsa — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Tulsa is known for its Art Deco downtown, its history as the early-20th-century Oil Capital of the World, the Greenwood District and the 1921 race massacre, and its place on the original Route 66 alignment.

Tulsa sits in northeastern Oklahoma on the Arkansas River, roughly 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. It is the second-largest city in Oklahoma, with a population near 411,000 in the 2020 census.

The 1901 Glenn Pool oil strike made Tulsa rich in the 1920s and 30s, exactly when Art Deco was the dominant commercial style. Boom-era oilmen built towers, churches, and theatres in limestone and terracotta downtown.

Greenwood, north of downtown, was a prosperous Black business district known as Black Wall Street before the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed it. The Greenwood Rising history center opened on the centennial in 2021.

Yes. The original 1926 Route 66 alignment runs through Tulsa on 11th Street and Southwest Boulevard. The Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza on the Arkansas River honors the Tulsa businessman who helped create the highway.

A 66.5-acre riverfront park on Tulsa's Riverside Drive, opened in 2018 with a $465 million gift from the George Kaiser Family Foundation. TIME named it among the World's Greatest Places that year.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a meaningful gift for many customers with Tulsa ties. The deco towers and the Arkansas River bend read instantly to anyone who grew up there. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note travels well.

The piece works in Mountain-modern, Mid-century, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. The deep blues and amber inks pick up walnut, brass, and warm leather. It also reads well over a desk in a darker study.

Yes. The deco-era subject and the warm-amber palette sit naturally beside teak credenzas, walnut shelving, and tulip tables. A Large above a Mid-century sideboard anchors the wall without competing with the woodgrain.

For a standard sofa, a single Large or a 4-tile Mural carries the wall. Above a console, a Medium centered above the lamp reads cleanly. Larger walls take a 9-tile Mural.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so it holds up to steam and splash. The Glossy is for dry rooms.

A microfiber cloth with water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive pads and bleach-based cleaners; the satin and matte finishes wipe clean and the colour lives in the surface, not on top.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the atlas and the art is hand-finished in-house. We do not license or resell stock imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

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