Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

Former name	Oklahoma University Museum of Art
Established	1926
Dissolved	1971
Location	University of Oklahoma campus, Norman, Oklahoma
Type	Art
Collections	Weitzenhoffer Collection, Fleischaker Collection, McGhee Collection, Thams Collection, State Department Collection, Eugene B. Adkins Collection, James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection,
Founder	Oscar Jacobson
Owner	University of Oklahoma

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is an art museum located on the University of Oklahoma campus. You can find it in Norman, Oklahoma.

Discover the Art Collections

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art has a huge collection of over 20,000 art pieces! You can see many different types of art there. This includes beautiful French Impressionist paintings. There's also American art from the 1900s, like paintings and sculptures.

The museum also features traditional and modern Native American Art. You can explore art from the American Southwest, pottery, and amazing photographs. Plus, there's contemporary art, Asian art, and prints from the 1500s up to today.

A Look at the Museum's History

How the Museum Started

The museum began in 1936. It was first called the Oklahoma University Museum of Art. An art professor named Oscar Jacobson started it. He was also the museum's first director until he retired in 1950.

The art collection kept growing over the years. In 1971, a new building was built. It was named the Fred Jones Jr. Memorial Art Center. Later, in 1992, its name changed to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

Growing the Museum's Space

In 2000, the museum received a special gift. It was the Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism. To make space for this and other art, construction started in 2003. A new part of the museum was added and finished in 2005. This new section, designed by architect Hugh Jacobsen, doubled the museum's size. It is named after Mary and Howard Lester.

In 2007, the museum received another important collection. It was the Eugene B. Adkins Collection. To show these new artworks, another expansion began in 2009. This new section, called the Stuart Wing, opened in 2011. It added 18,000 square feet of space. This wing holds art collected in the last 15 years. The museum now has about 40,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Amazing Art Collections to Explore

The museum has several main collections. Each one offers a unique look at different art styles and cultures.

• The Weitzenhoffer Collection: This collection features famous paintings by Impressionists. You can see works from artists like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
• The Fleischaker Collection: This collection has over 350 pieces of Native American and southwestern art. It includes paintings, sculptures, and pottery. You can also find works by Russian Taos painters.
• The McGhee Collection: This part of the museum shows Eastern Orthodox icons. These are religious artworks that date back to the 1400s.
• The Thams Collection: This collection includes 32 paintings. All of them were created by artists who were part of the Taos Society of Artists.
• The State Department Collection: The museum bought this collection in 1948. It was part of a special art show that traveled around the world. This show was meant to share American culture. The collection includes art by Georgia O'Keeffe and Edward Hopper.
• The Eugene B. Adkins Collection: This collection has more than 400 paintings by American artists. It also includes examples of Native American paintings, pottery, and jewelry.
• The James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection: This collection was given to the museum in 2010. It features art from North America's native cultures. You can see works from the Pueblos of the Southwest, Navajo, Hopi, and other tribes. It includes about 2,600 paintings and works on paper. There are also over 1,000 kachinas and about 400 other art pieces, like pottery and jewelry. Famous Native artists like Fred Kabotie, Awa Tsireh, Fritz Scholder, and Helen Hardin are represented here.

Gallery

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  Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art - University of Oklahoma and "Sphinx", a monumental sculpture by Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
  Photo courtesy of Marelblu. July 15, 2012

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  Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 2009

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  The Stuart Wing

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  Yei'bichai Dances, by Apie Begay (Navajo), watercolor on paper, 19th century, collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

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  Portrait of Alexander Reid by Van Gogh

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  Bergère rentrant des moutons (Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep) by Pissarro

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  Coco (Claude) by Renoir

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  La Berge à Lavacourt (Riverbank at Lavacourt) by Monet

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  The Last Supper by Giordano