Company Profile
The Old Jail Art Center
Company Overview
ABOUT THE MUSEUM: The Old Jail Art Center (OJAC) opened in 1980 in the refurbished original (1877) jail building of Shackelford County. There have been three major capital additions since that time so that the current facility currently measures 15,000 square feet, with an additional sculpture courtyard and grounds. The permanent collection numbers more than 2,200 items comprising Asian art, pre-Columbian art and artifacts, and European and American art from the 17th through 21st centuries. The museum maintains an active exhibition program of work from the collection as well as borrowed objects. The Green Fine Art Library houses over 2,000 volumes and the Robert Nail Archives houses historic documents from the area; artist papers; and the OJAC institutional archives.
Achievements
• A successful and far-reaching educational program, which has been cited as an exemplary program that can serve as a model outreach program for other museums.
• A remarkable collection of art for a museum in a small community. It is particularly strong in art of the 20th century, including works by Amedeo Modigliani, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Joan Miro, Henri Matisse, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, John Marin, Charles Demuth, Robert Rauschenberg, Agnes Martin, and Kiki Smith. Pre-20th-century artists represented in the collection include Rembrandt van Rijn, Salvator Rosa, George Romney, Francisco Goya, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. There are also works by Italian Modernist sculptors, late 20th-century British artists, and important regional groups, such as the Fort Worth Circle (1945-1955) and the Taos Moderns (1950s-1960s). Strong holdings in Asian art, particularly ancient Han to T’ang Dynasty Chinese tomb figures, along with the William O. Gross, Jr. Collection of Pre-Columbian Art, with its pan-cultured artifacts, add significant range and depth to the permanent collection. Artifacts that reflect the ranching heritage of the area are the focus of the Sallie Reynolds Matthews Room, a permanent installation. The OJAC has an active acquisition policy, focused primarily on collecting the work of contemporary Texas artists.
• Accreditation. The Old Jail’s greatest single achievement came in 1989 when it was awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums, becoming one of only 5% of the nation’s museums to be accredited. It has twice been awarded subsequent accreditation, most recently in 2008.
• Fundraising success. In its recent Reilly Nail Legacy Campaign (2006-2008), the OJAC raised more than $8.25 million from mostly local sources, exceeding its goal of $7,750,000. The museum has a $10 million endowment.
• Capital Improvements. A number of capital projects have been undertaken in 2008-2009 as a result of the recently successful Legacy Campaign, among them the exterior and interior refurbishment of the 1877 building; enlargement of the Green Library to include a periodical room/e-lounge; restroom remodeling; new carpeting throughout; refurbishment of the Stasney Center for Education; new audio-visual equipment; remodeling of a current space to transform it into an education suite/distance learning studio; addition of a new kitchen and storage space; redesign of the sculpture courtyard; grounds improvements.