Oscar B. Jacobson (Swedish American, 1882-1966), Western Landscape

Oil on canvas, 1944, signed and dated "Jacobson 44" at lower right, inscribed "44-3" to verso, presented in a period frame.

Stretcher size 22 x 28 in.; Frame dimensions 28 x 34 1/4 in.

Oscar Brousse Jacobson was a Swedish-born American painter, educator, and influential advocate for the arts in Oklahoma. After immigrating to Kansas as a child, he studied at Bethany College and continued his artistic education in Paris, Sweden, and Denmark, later earning an MFA from Yale University. From 1915 to 1954, Jacobson served as director of the School of Art at the University of Oklahoma, while developing his own reputation as a painter of Southwestern landscapes. His work was exhibited throughout the United States and Europe and received numerous awards.

Jacobson played a particularly important role in promoting Native American art. In the late 1920s, he and University of Oklahoma professor Edith Mahier worked with a group of young Kiowa artists who became internationally known as the Kiowa Six, helping introduce their work to a broader audience while encouraging the preservation of their distinctive artistic traditions. In recognition of his advocacy, Jacobson was made an honorary chief of the Kiowa tribe. His paintings are held by institutions including the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, and Woolaroc Museum.

Minor stable craquelure; surface scratch to water at center of composition; minor abrading along top edge of canvas near frame; white paint speck to foliage at lower left corner; loose in frame; some rubbing to frame.