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Chambers Library Exhibitions

Oklahoma's Indigenous Muralists during the New Deal Era

October 2020

Following the Great Depression, Pres. Roosevelt enacted the New Deal a series of economic relief programs. One program, the Federal Art Project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), employed artists to create murals for federal and other public buildings.

On exhibit are works by Oklahoma artists commissioned to paint murals for the WPA Federal Art Project. All are Native American except Oscar Jacobson who championed Indigenous artists promoting the Kiowa Five, two of which are represented here, Stephen Mopope and Monroe Tsatoke.

For more information, read the exhibition booklet at the link below.

Fred Beaver (Creek, 1911-1980), Untitled, 1959. Watercolor and ink. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Acee Blue Eagle (Pawnee-Muscogee, 1909-1959), Fawn, nd. Tempera. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Woody Wilson Crumbo (Pottawatomi, 1912-1989), Fancy Dancer, nd. Print. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Stephen Mopope (Kiowa, 1898-1974), Fancy Dancer, 1947. Pochoir (stencil) on paper. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Monroe TsaToke (Kiowa, 1904-1937), Brave, ca. 1929. Pochoir on paper. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Oscar Brousse Jacobson (Swedish, 1882-1966), River Seine, Notre Dame, 1914. Colored pencil. Archives & Special Collections, Max Chambers Library, University of Central Oklahoma. The Melton Art Reference Library Collection, Gift of Melton Family.

Curator
Kristi Kohl, Archives Specialist