Oklahoma City KEY - Cover Story

An exceptional exhibition of 20th century Native American and regional art of the Southwest is on display at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum® in Oklahoma City through May 16, 2004. The exhibition, The Fleischaker Collection: Western and Native American Art, on loan from the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, includes pottery, baskets and sculpture as well as paintings from the Taos Society of Artists.

The works on display in the Arthur and Shifra Silberman Gallery of Native American Art and the Grayce B. Kerr Changing Exhibition Gallery include Buffalo Dancers, T.C. Cannon (see photo); Adobe-Tesuque, Fremont Ellis; Road to Taos at the Rio Grande, William P. Henderson; King Solomon, Leon Gaspard; Road to Chimayo, John Sloan; Sante Fe Landscape, B.J.O. Nordfeldt; Procession at Norogachic, George Carlson; frog effigy bowl, (Zuni) and basket (Olla-Western Apache), both by unknown artists.

Between 1970 and 1994, Richard and Adeline Fleischaker developed a passion for the intrinsic beauty and cultural depth of artists who translated the beauty of northern New Mexico into their individual works. Eventually, the Fleischakers became interested in regional Native American art and their collection grew into one of the most valued of its kind in existence.

The actual Fleischaker Collection consists of approximately 400 pieces of art. "If there are threads that run throughout the collection, connecting the pieces to the collecting," says Pam Fleischaker, the couple’s daughter, "they are a combination of an appreciation of the beauty of the art and the region; an intense desire to learn about the history, methods and quality of the work; and a generosity that made the Fleischakers more than ‘patrons’ of the art community."

The University of Oklahoma acquired the collection in 1996 following the deaths of the Fleischakers. It is now part of the permanent collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art located in Norman. The Fleischaker’s vision and appreciation for art of the Southwest is now shared with students, the public and scholarly communities.

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is located in Oklahoma’s Adventure District at the I-35 and I-44 Junction. Membership to America’s Premier Western Heritage Museum includes year-round admission for six people. The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.nationalcowboymuseum.org or call (405) 478-2250.

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