theSkimmseum: The Mother of

All Holidays
POSTED ON MAY 8, 2015

Welcome to theSkimmseum. Weve skimmed the news around the museum, and
want to share the highlights with you.
Skimmd while texting my mom back to let her know I havent been sucked into
a tornado.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
My mother said to me, If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are
a monk, you will become the Pope. Instead, I was a painter, and became
Picasso. -Pablo Picasso

THE ART OF MOTHERHOOD

THE STORY
Sunday is Mothers Day. Its okay, Ill wait here while you realize what day it is
and go figure out what youre going to do for the woman who gave you life. She
was also probably one of the first people to take you to a museum, where you
first reached out toward a sculpture and heard the words, DONT TOUCH THAT.
Our museum, our collection, and art in general references mothers in many
ways. Mothers of every kind are depicted in art, from innumerable countries and
cultures. Many in our collection depict Native American mothers, like these
works:
IMAGE CREDIT Jose Rey (U.S., Jemez, 1915-1994) Indian Mother Baking Bread, n.d. Tempera
on paper, 12 x 18 in. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman Gift of the
U.S. Treasury Department (Public Works of Art Project), 1942

Jos Rey Toledo was one of a number of students who learned mural techniques
under the PWAP at the Santa Fe Indian School Studio. He later went on to receive
a Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Mexico in
1951 and 1955, respectively. Although he practiced as an artist for much of his
life, he also earned a degree in public heath from the University of California at
Berkeley and worked as an administrator of Indian health programs for
departments of health in various states. Indian Mother Making Bread is one of his
early paintings and may have been intended as a mural study, considering its
emphatic horizontal format and decorative border.
IMAGE CREDIT Spencer Asah (U.S., Kiowa, 1910-1954) Mother and Son on Horseback, n.d.
Tempera, 18 x 14 in. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman
Acquisition

Spencer Asah was born and raised near Carnegie, Oklahoma. As a member of the
original Kiowa Five group that studied under Oscar B. Jacobson at the University

of Oklahoma, Asah primarily worked in a style common to Southern Plains

painters for the duration of his productive career. His work has been exhibited
and collected internationally, including several permanent murals in federal
buildings statewide. Mother and Son on Horseback depicts the figures in profile
view and constructed through simplified field of color. The charming action of the
horse moves beyond and reflects Asahs knowledge and fondness for these
creatures.

WHAT ART-MOMS CAN I SEE IF I BRING MY MOM TO THE

MUSEUM?
There are many mothers depicted in artwork currently on display here at the Fred
Jones Jr. Museum of Art. A bronze statue on a marble base can be found in the
central corridor when you enter the main floor of the Lester Wing. The Pioneer
Woman is a miniature version of a 17-foot-tall statue in Ponca City. The artist,
Percy Bryant Baker, celebrates the women who founded the state of Oklahoma,
depicting a bold woman with books under her arm, leading her son forward to
the future. In the same corridor, you can find Baby in White. You cant pinch the
babys adorable little cheeks because touching art is forbidden, but youll
definitely want to. The artist, Martha White, won several prizes and scholarships
that allowed her to travel and work in Europe before returning to New York to
teach art. In our Weitzenhoffer Collection youll find Madame Hessel and Lulu in
the Dining Room at the Chteau des Clayes. Madame Hessel was the wife of a
Parisian art dealer, who represented the works creator, Edouard Vuillard. It is a
well known fact that he is an artist with one of the most enjoyable names to say
repeatedly. On the main floor of the Stuart Wing, you will find Lullaby, another
painting depicting a Native American woman. This one, however, is not from the
perspective of a Native American artist. William Robinson Leigh depicts a mother
seated by a fire holding a cradleboard. Fun fact, the cradleboard depicted in this
image is now a part of the artists studio collection of objects that resides at
the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are many other fascinating
mom-related objects on displayfar too many to cram into this blog post. I
recommend that you visit the museum and see how many you can find.

DO YOU HAVE ART THAT WAS CREATED BY ARTISTS WHO

ARE MOTHERS?
When you think about how much work it takes to be a mother, its pretty
incredible to imagine balancing child-rearing with a prolific art career. Yet, many
artists have managed to do just that. One of our favorite art-moms is Barbara
Hepworth. You cant miss her giant bronze sculpture, Two Figures, as it stands
guard over the entrance of the FJJMA right through the doors. Early on in her
career, Hepworth primarily carved from wood and stone. In the 1950s, she
shifted to bronze, which allowed for works on a larger scale. If being a renowned
artist wasnt enough, Hepworth was the mother of triplets. Talk about having a
cool mom.

DO YOU HAVE WORKS BY ARTISTS WHO HAD MOMS?

Fun fact, every single object in our collection was created by an artist who, at one
time or another, had a mother. I know, its pretty crazy. We have a work in our
collection by Vincent Van Gogh (weve mentioned iton the blog before). Although

it isnt in our collection, he painted a portrait of his own mother, Anna Carbentus
Van Gogh. Mother Van Gogh dabbled in art herself, and Van Gogh is said to have
practiced copying some of her work when he was a young child. She had her
hands full with six children, including Vincent. Unfortunately, Van Gogh isnt
exactly known for his familial connections. He grew away from his parents, and
rejected their world views and beliefs. Nobody reading this can relate, right?

REPEAT AFTER ME
WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FRIEND SAYS YOU HAVE TO
HAVE CHILDREN TO BE A MOTHER:
NUH-UH. Georgia OKeeffe, famous for her artistic depictions of hugely enlarged
flowers, towering skyscrapers and New Mexican landscapes, never had children,
but is recognized as the Mother of American Modernism. If youre an American
Modernist artist, you should consider making her a handmade macaroni noodle
card, or bringing her undercooked eggs and orange juice in bed on Sunday.

THINGS TO KNOW
Free Admission: Every day the museum is open is free admission day. If you
forgot about Mothers Day up until you started reading this blog post, weve got
you covered. Heres the plan: take her to lunch at a quiet restaurant (preferably
one with complimentary and endless chips/bread/rolls etc), then come by the
Fred Jones and wander through the collection with her. It will only cost you the
gas money to get here, and we promise youll have a lovely time. Its a littleknown fact that most moms with grown kids would trade all the flowers in the
world for a little quality time with their offspring.