The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is in the center of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and encourages people to let art inspire and influence their lives. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday from 10 am to 9 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. It’s important to note that the museum is closed on Mondays and every major holiday.
History
In the early 1900s, the Oklahoma Art League and Art Renaissance Club became concerned with how much art and art education was available to the public. Small efforts were made when the Progress Administration Experimental Gallery opened, which provided the public with a small art collection.
The small gallery eventually became a private institution on May 18, 1945, when the gallery was inducted as a museum. Even though the Oklahoma City Museum of Art was officially founded in 1945, the museum’s facilities were just recently built. In the early 2000s, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation donated $14.5 million to help the museum reach its goal of $40 million. Then, in 2002, the museum’s new facilities opened, which included a comprehensive permanent collection, educational opportunities, a store, a café, and the room to house various special attractions.
Permanent Attractions
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is home to six different permanent attractions that explore a variety of art from across regions and time periods.
Photography includes photos from various time periods, but has a concentration of photos that were taken by 20th century American photographers. Some of the highlighted photographers of this exhibit include; Imogen Cunningham, Edward Steichen, and Elliott Erwitt.
American Art showcases paintings and sculptures that date back from America’s colonial era to 1960. Some of the featured artists of the American Art exhibit include; Thomas Moran, Charles Willson Peale, and Moses Soyer. One of the concentrated areas of this exhibit is the area where artists from Oklahoma are featured.
European Art features art work from the likes of Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Francis Hayman, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that is spread out from the Baroque-era to the early 20th century. French post-impressionistic painting is a highlighted art form in this exhibit.
Post-War and Contemporary Art features a combination of paintings and sculptures that were created from 1945 to the present day. Two of the highlighted collections of this attraction are The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States and the Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection.
415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, Phone: 405-236-3100
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