Univ. of Oklahoma – Fred Jones Jr. Museum Of Art

If you’re visiting Norman/​OKC, this is a spectacular museum and art gallery! So many cultural pieces represented, and the staff, including reception and security, are above satisfactory. Very welcoming, helpful and courteous. The building itself is lovely and I stayed in here for hours searching, learning and experiencing one of the finer points of OU!

It’s one of the best second-​tier art museums in the country.

This museum has been on my list for years yet every time I passed through Oklahoma my schedule prevented me from visiting. That was my loss.
I made this museum my priority so I drove hours from Texas and it was worth the trip. The Fred Jones Museum of Art is known for its collection of French impressionism and American western art.
What I often enjoy at regional museums is that I’m often pleasantly surprised by works I would never see at major museums in large cities. Such was the case here. From a Renoir study to a very primitive Edouard Vuillard to a black & white Thomas Moran landscape, I know I’d never see these in the permanent galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Viewing lesser works of an artist can provide special insight and appreciation.
The interconnected pavilions here allow a wonderful amount of natural light into the space and it makes a difference when viewing the paintings on the walls. It’s easy to linger in these galleries.
I was cautious entering the building housing western art because works in this genre often cross from the overly romantic to outright kitsch. However, there was little of that here. An incredible array of landscape paintings are on display. A few works resonated with me. The first, R Browned McGrew’s painting, ‘Hosteen’, of a native American elder looking out toward, perhaps, a landscape. The realistic portrayal captures the man’s dignity. The second, Alvin James’, ‘Koshare (Paiyakyamu or Hano Clown)’, is a painted wood figure of a clown looking up to the sky with his tongue sticking out. The muted colors and thrust of his body upward make this small piece compelling.
It’s taken me too many years to visit this museum but, now that I finally got here, I plan to return whenever I can.

OU’s art museum is pretty legit. I’ll admit, I’m not a huge art fan, but this place has a little bit of something for everyone. If you like Native American art, you’ll love this place, as it seems to make up ¼ of the museum’s collection.
There are 3 floors in all, so it’s a decent sized museum (but not incredibly huge and overwhelming). It might’ve taken 1.5 hours to go through it all?
Best part: free admission for all!

I highly recommend «Enter the Matrix: Indigenous Printmakers» for its selection, and the explanation of prints and printmaking schools, and «James Surls» for a lifetime of nature-​inspired metal, wood, and stone sculpture. «Immortales:The Hall of Emperors of the Capitoline Museums, Rome» was a very special opportunity to learn some ancient Roman history too.

Lovely museum located on the Oklahoma University campus. Great variety of exhibits on Asian, American, Native American, & European art. Admission was free.

This museum is definitely a gem in the OKC area, a gem I’ve overlooked in favor of the more popular Oklahoma City Museum of Art. This is mostly due to the fact that it’s like pulling teeth to get me to drive to Norman, a flaw that is no one’s fault but mine. But now that I’ve visited Fred Jones, I’m inclined to say that this – this! is my new favorite museum.
Walking across the street from the visitor lot just north of the museum, I couldn’t help but notice the unique building. From the outside, it appears like several little buildings. Once you enter, be sure to grab a map from the front desk because you’ll need it. The ground floor has a labyrinthine quality as the different rooms wind between the various collections. From medieval to Asian to the contemporary and modern, this museum houses a variety of items; however, I was instantly attracted to the Southwestern and Native American art. Ahhhhhh (a choir of angels)
And to my delight, the ground floor was just the beginning! Take the stairs up to feast your eyes on an excellent American West and Native American art and artifact collection. I was especially in awe of the Native jewelery display, because frankly, any gorgeous piece of turquoise leaves me drooling. Be sure to take your time. The art in this hall is worth a languid perusal as you savor each piece.
I unfortunately don’t have many pictures to share. Turns out that the ground floor is the only floor that permits pictures. 3^rd and basement-​level are off-​limits to the photographers, even the lowly iPhone photographers such as myself. I learned this from being reprimanded on the basement-​level where the rotating exhibitions reside. Oscar Brousse Jacobson’s works were on display during my visit, and they were beautiful. The staff at Fred Jones clearly put a lot of thought and care into the lighting because the quality and how well the paintings appeared with the lighting was very striking.
Best of all? This experience is free. Free! I bought a couple nick-​knacks at the museum store, simply because I wanted to put some money towards what is a fabulous museum. I regret not coming sooner, but now I know what I’ve been missing. Here’s to return visits many times over in the future!

Really cool and it was free (I’m a student at OU so you might want to double check). It’s a lot bigger than we thought it was. Spent about 2 hours here and didn’t see everything we could have.

If you are a student of OU then admission is free. I’m not sure what the price is for non student. It’s a small museum but it’s pretty interesting to spend an hour or so walking around the exhibits. I really like the Contemporary art display

This museum is incredible. Such wonderful exhibits. Impressionist art, Native American art and artifacts, southwestern art. contemporary art. FABULOUS. The building itself if unique and strikingly beautiful and alson easy to get around in. love it. love it. love it.

i feel so lucky to live two blocks from this place. i went to OU in the early 2000’s and have gotten to watch the museum grow tremendously since then.
the collection is varied and impressive. you can see the whole place in a half a day, but if you rush you could get around the exhibits in under an hour. wouldn’t recommend that tactic though cause you’re going to miss out.
my favorite piece is «vincent» by van gogh, but they have some great works by pissarro, lichtenstein, gauguin, and countless others.
jack levine’s piece «the white horse» really is something incredible and i can’t recommend that one enough.
also there are signed awards to members of the weitzenhoffer family from presidents roosevelt, and truman that you can see which is a lot of fun.
if not from norman and visiting town it is a must see. if you’re a local and haven’t been then you can’t complain there’s nothing to do in this town!!!