The permanent collection has close to 1900 works of art. The largest area of the collection consists of modern drawings, paintings and prints by well known Americans such as John Marin, John Sloan, Charles Demuth, and Thomas Hart Benton and Europeans, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro. The collection also contains a sizable number of works by contemporary British artists such as Adrian Heath, Henry Moore, and Alan Reynolds. Smaller regional collections of the Fort Worth School ( 1945-1955 ) and Taos Contemporary artists round out the Museum's permanent holdings. Today, the OJAC actively collects and showcases the work of young Texas artists.

The OJAC's Eastern Art Collection, while small, is impressive. The thirty-five Chinese terra-cotta tomb figures which date from the early Han Dynasty to the T'ang Dynasty are the highlight of the museum's collection. Augmenting the Eastern collection are 10 pieces of tomb pottery and 12 porcelain decorative arts on long term loan from The San Antonio Museum of Art.

The OJAC is also home of the W.O. Gross, Jr. collection of pre-Columbian art. This extensive and important collection features earthenware vessels, votive figurines and tomb pottery. Among the numerous culture represented in this collection are Chimu, Colima, Huastec, Jalisco, Maya, Mixtec, Nayarit and Teotihuacan.

The Marshall R. Young Courtyard, named for one of Albany's pioneer oil men was created to exhibit most of the OJAC's 20th Century outdoor sculpture including American artists Jesus Bautista Moroles, Evaline Sellors and the late Charles Williams, as well as post WWII European sculptors Luigi Broggini, Pericle Fazzini, and Augusto Perez. Other important outdoor works of various media are installed throughout the Museum grounds.

One of the newest additions to the OJAC is the Sallie Reynolds Matthews Room. This gallery honors both its namesake, author of Interwoven, and her youngest child, Watkins (Watt) Reynolds Matthews. The room is a generic family gathering room based on two rooms at the headquarters of the Matthews' historic Lambshead Ranch. Some of the furniture in this room and a number of the artifacts involved with ranch life are from Lambshead Ranch. The remaining furniture and artifacts are from other ranches in the area and the OJAC permanent collection.

The Young Bequest of French Paintings
     Marshall R. Young, Jr. was a valued Trustee and benefactor of the Old Jail Art Center for many years, serving most recently as Trustee Emeritus.  He donated funds for the Sculpture Courtyard added in 1984 and named in honor of his father, an independent oil producer whose early oil strikes were in Shackelford County.  Marshall Young, Jr. was an avid art collector all his life and lived most of it in San Francisco where he was a magazine publisher.
     At his death on January 4, 2001 he bequeathed four oil paintings exhibited in this gallery from his private collection to the Old Jail Art Center:  Eugène Boudin, Anvers, L’entrée du port, 1871; Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Nu couché, vu du dos, c. 1983; Henri Fantin-Latour, Nature morte aux roses, 1899; and Gustave Caillebotte, Paysage avec rivière, c. 1888.  He also bequeathed a work on paper, which is not currently on view:  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Au bal masqué—les fêtes parisiennes—nouveau confettis, 1892.  Click on Young Bequest images below to enlarge.

Boudin	Renoir	Fantin-Latour	Caillebotte	Toulouse-Lautrec

Research/Archival Collections

The Robert E. Nail Archives at the Old Jail Art Center includes photographs, newspapers, and other official documents pertaining to Shackelford County, Fort Griffin, Camp Cooper, and Lambshead Ranch. Research available by appointment.  Call (325) 762-2269.

Library/Visual Resources
The Green Art Research Library holds over 2,000 volumes of art history, art criticism, artist monographs, and literature, as well as current and back issues of art, historical, and cultural periodicals and videos.  The Green art Research Library is open to the public during regular museum hours.  Researchers and curators needing specialized attention should contact the museum at (325) 762-2269 to schedule an appointment.