The History of the Old Jail Art Center

The Old Jail Art Center (OJAC) opened in 1980 with four small galleries, in the first permanent jail built in Shackelford County. The jail was designed and built by the civil architect John Thomas of Thomas and Woerner, Builders, Fort Worth. Construction began in 1877 and was finished the following year at the cost of more than $9000, which outraged the local taxpayers. Scottish stonemasons carved their initials into the building's large limestone blocks, in order to ensure payment for work done once the fledgling county was solvent. You can easily see why the building was known for several decades as "the alphabet jail." The "M" and the "E" are known to be the initials of stone masons named McGuire and Emery, while the "X" and the triangle are thought to be the marks of illiterate stone masons. Considered very modern at the time of its construction, the jail was used for more than half a century until it was abandoned in 1929 in favor of the "new" jail one block to the west. Robert E. Nail, Princeton graduate, local author and playwright, most notably of the Fort Griffin Fandangle, saved the building from demolition in 1940 by purchasing it for $ 25. He bought the lot on which it sits for $325 a few months later. One of the few outstanding examples of 19th Century Classic Architecture still in existence, the old jail building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Reilly Nail (photo above) Princeton graduate, local author and former television producer, inherited the old jail building from his "Uncle Bobby" in 1968. A little more than a decade later, Reilly and his cousin, the artist Bill Bomar, decided to combine their collections of 20th Century modern art, and the collections of their mothers, both of whom loved Oriental art. These four collections formed the core of the permanent collection, which numbers more than 1,500 art works to date. Of special interest is Jewel Nail Bomar's collection of 37 Chinese terra-cotta tomb figures which are on permanent exhibition. The collection also includes well-known artists such as Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, Henry Moore, John Marin and Grant Wood, Sallie Reynolds Matthews' Historical Room and Watt Matthews Ranching Collection, as well as lesser-known and almost unknown artists. The permanent collection is best described as "eclectic," even with the majority of works in it done in the 20th Century. It contains, for example, a sizable number of works by contemporary British artists, a group not usually represented in American museums. The Old Jail Art Center actively collects the work of young artists, and showcases young artists in its annual "Emerging Artist" exhibition. One of the underlying aims of OJAC is to encourage by both purchase and exhibition the work of young artists.

Artwork in a variety of media abound both inside and out at The Old Jail Art Center. Jesus Bautista Moroles' granite Sun Symbol anchors the Marshall R. Young Courtyard. Also located in the courtyard are Pericle Fazzini's Conservation, and several other important figurative bronze works made since 1945.. The remainder of OJAC's outdoor sculpture collection is installed throughout the museum grounds. Located in front of the old jail building is another Moroles sculpture, Moon Ring 3. It was included in an invitation-only sculpture exhibition at the White House in 1995-96. Inside the museum are outstanding collections and exhibits on permanent display. The William O. Gross, Jr. Collection of Pre-Columbian Art, for example, spans several ancient cultures and some pieces date as far back as 1000 B.C. The Sallie Reynolds Matthews Room honors both its namesake, author of Interwoven and pioneer, and her youngest child and son, Watkins (Watt) Reynolds Matthews. The room is meant to be a generic family gathering room based on two rooms in the main house of Lambshead Ranch, the historic ranch of the Matthews family. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, OJAC also hosts several traveling exhibitions each year, loaned from museums and traveling exhibits firms across the country.

Rapid growth necessitated additions to the museums in 1984 and 1996. Both were designed by Fort Worth architect Arthur Weinman. Today The Old Jail Art Center encompasses some 14,000 square feet and is a thriving, widely-acclaimed art museum dedicated to the visual arts and to preserving the local history of the Shackelford County area. OJAC has been included since 1989 in the select group of museums nationwide that is accredited by the American Association of Museums. Only 1 in 10 museums in the state of Texas are accredited. Serving a core audience of 25 rural counties, The Old Jail Art Center is the free and accredited art museum between Fort Worth and El Paso. Because the local school system does not offer any art education in its curriculum, OJAC addresses the needs of the students by providing innovative art education programs throughout the year. Adults, too, are enriched by special programming. With the 1996 addition of the Stasney Center for Education, OJAC will be able to offer educational programming unprecedented in quality and quantity. The Old Jail Art Center acts as a magnet, drawing more than 30,000 visitors each year from West Central Texas, across the nation and around the world to tiny Albany, Texas, population 2,000.