Selected works of Oklahoma artists and a collection of etchings by a 17th-century Dutch master, will be on display beginning at noon today as part of the Inaugural Exhibition of OU President David Boren at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

The exhibit will showcase works of art by those who were born, lived or studied art in Oklahoma, and 51 etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn.

"The inaugural exhibition reflects the legacy of Oscar B. Jacobson, whose influence in the arts at OU spanned over three decades," said Gail Kana Anderson, assistant museum director.

Works in the inaugural collection include Native-American paintings done by the Kiowa Five group.

Jacobson, former OU fine arts director, became aware of the talent of the Kiowa Five in communication with Susan Peters of the Anadarko Indian Agency. He then arranged to have them admitted to the OU School of Art in the late 1920s.

At the time, the two primary centers of Native-American art were at Santa Fe, N.M., and OU.

The Kiowa Five was composed of painters Spencer Asa, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope and Monroe Tsatoke.

After one of the original five was dropped, Louis Smokey was added.

The Kiowa Five helped to bring national and international attention to Native-American art across the country as well as in Oklahoma.

"The efforts of these people was to open up the door for (American) Indian Art to be taken seriously and be considered a vital part of the cultural milieu of Oklahoma and all of America," said Mary Jo Watson, art history professor.

The Kiowa Five served as a bridge between the 19th-century ledger artists who transferred work from animal hides to paper and the long heritage of American-Indian tribes with new material and new meaning, Watson said.

Other art in the inaugural exhibition includes portraits of Native- American people taken in the late 1800s through the mid 1900s by renowned photographer Edward Curtis.

Curtis produced 20 volumes of visual and written material on 80 tribes in the United States and Canada.

He photographed indigenous people in Oklahoma in 1927.

The Rembrandt Etchings are composed of 51 selections from the Carnegie Museum of Art and are making their final stop at OU on a three-year tour of five museums.

The creation of the etchings required drawing with a needle through resin onto a copper plate.

Acid, rather than physical pressure, was used to cut the lines into the plate.

The Rembrandt etchings depict scenes from the Bible, mythology and ancient history.

Other works in the inaugural exhibition include works by Oklahoma artists Allan Houser, Olink Hardy, Carolyn Brady, Leonard Good and Paul Glasco.

The Inaugural Exhibition and Rembrandt etchings will run through Oct. 22 at the museum
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