Oklahoma City Museum of Art

This Oklahoma gallery’s core collection focuses on American and European art from the 19th and 20th centuries. However, visiting works expand the range of this collection. Permanent displays are supplemented by touring national and international exhibits, such as the striking art-glass work of Dale Chihuly from the Seattle-area. The permanent collection also features luminaries such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Georgia O’Keeffe. A popular film program is also offered by the museum.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is rooted in the early statehood efforts of organizations like the Oklahoma Art League or Art Renaissance Club, which were concerned with arts education for young cities. Later, formal efforts were initiated with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Experimental Gallery which was open to all. When the Museum was founded on May 18, 1945, it became a privately funded institution and a gallery that was federally funded.

Today’s Museum is a fusion of two predecessors: the Oklahoma Art Center, which itself was an outgrowth of both the WPA Experimental Gallery and the Oklahoma Museum of Art. Both institutions were dedicated to collecting, public programming, and exhibitions. However, the decline in the economy during the 1980s made it difficult for the city to support two institutions. In 1989, the two museums were merged. Museum leaders saw the opportunity to create a new Oklahoma City Museum of Art that would be financially stable and mature.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation provided a $14.5million capital grant and the support of more than 500 foundations, corporations and individuals, the goal to build and endow the museum was achieved. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center was inaugurated to great critical acclaim in March 2002. With its permanent collection, temporary exhibitions cycle, innovative education opportunities, film program, Museum Store, and international film program, the Museum attracts more than 125,000 visitors annually.

Address: 415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma