We transform lives through experiences with art.
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (FJJMA) is the pride of the University of Oklahoma’s students, faculty, and staff. It attracts art lovers and generations of learners who live and work in Norman, the region, and beyond. The Museum’s diverse collections, assembled over almost a century, are as fine as those of any American public university museum.
The FJJMA was founded in 1936 and moved to its first dedicated building in 1971, funded by auto parts manufacturer Fred Jones. In 1992, it was named in memory of Fred Jones, Jr., who had tragically died in 1950 while a student at OU.
A decade of extraordinary momentum in the Museum’s collection began in 2000 with the Weitzenhoffer gift of French Impressionist works, then the most valuable gift of art ever given to an American public university. The growth continued with noteworthy acquisitions such as the Eugene B. Adkins Collection of art of the American Southwest and Native American art (2007), and the Bialac collection of Native American art (2010). These collections are world-class and world-leading in their quality and range. Today, visitors can experience and enjoy an outstanding global art collection, spanning from antiquity to the contemporary.
The important acquisitions at the beginning of this century were paralleled by major expansions of the gallery spaces. The Lester Wing, by notable architect Hugh Newel Jacobsen, doubled the size of the Museum’s buildings. These spaces opened in 2005 to provide new galleries for the expanded permanent collection, as well as an auditorium and classroom to further learning and engagement activities. Six years later, the Stuart Wing offered new spaces for regionally focused collections.
The unique combination of its prestigious collections and state-of-the-art facilities makes the FJJMA one of the leading museums in the state of Oklahoma. Importantly, it serves as a pivotal asset for OU.
