OU students will have a chance to catch an early glimpse of more than 70 works from Russian artists at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

“American Artists from the Russian Empire” will debut at the museum, 555 Elm Ave., on Oct. 4, but a student opening is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Sandy Bell Gallery today. There will be free food, music by Nexus Productions Inc. and a stomp performance by the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

The exhibit will include more than 70 portraits, abstracts, paintings of the American West and Soviet street scenes by Russian artists and will “examine the impact of American culture and art movements on Russian artists living in the United States and will highlight the influence and contributions of Russian artists in shaping American culture,” according to a museum press release.

An opening for the exhibition is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the Sandy Bell Gallery. Derrick Cartwright, executive director of the San Diego Museum of Art, and Dr. Evgenia Petrova, deputy director of science at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, are scheduled to speak during the opening, which is free and open to the public.

Cartwright’s lecture, “American Born Russian,” will explore the treatment of Russian artists by American art historians. After Cartwright speaks, Petrova will lead an open discussion and walkthrough of the exhibit.

After its debut in Oklahoma, the exhibition will travel to the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the San Diego Museum of Art.

For more information about the exhibit, contact the museum at 325-4938 or visit www.ou.edu/fjjma.