No Man’s Land by Edward Ruscha
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
Norman
In 1941, 4-year-old Edward Ruscha moved to Oklahoma City. Although he moved away from the state in 1945, Ruscha’s fascination with Oklahoma is reflected in this 1990 painting. Ruscha, one of the nation’s most sought-after contemporary artists of his generation, outlines in the large 54-by-120-inch acrylic on canvas painting the territory of Oklahoma before it became a state – when it was, in fact, no man’s land. In spring 2013, nearly 200 museum supporters, private donors, organizations and members of the community joined forces to raise funds to acquire the painting.
