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Governor Frank Keating, 1995-2003

by Jo Saylors

Bronze
Commissioned by the Oklahoma State Legislature
Dimensions: 25 height
Dedicated 2003

Governor Frank Keating, 1995-2003 by Jo Saylors

The Artwork

Francis Anthony Keating was born in St. Louis, Missouri, February 10, 1944. Keating's family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, before he was six months old. He graduated from Cascia Hall High School in 1962, and earned a B.A. in history from Georgetown University in 1966. In 1969, he earned a J.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Keating served as an FBI agent and as an assistant district attorney in Tulsa. He later served as U.S. Attorney from Tulsa before becoming the highest ranking Oklahoman in the Reagan and Bush Administrations, serving at the Justice, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments. Keating served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma. His first term began in 1995 and ended in 1999. Keating won reelection to a second term, which ended in 2003. As of 2006, Keating is the second Governor in Oklahoma history to hold two consecutive terms and the only Republican to accomplish that feat.

The Artist


Jo Saylors
Jo Saylors

As a young girl growing up in Tennessee, Jo Saylors knew which path she wanted to pursue in life. Her childhood was dotted with fond memories of digging up clay from a nearby creek bank and molding it to form various figures in the sun. From that time on, Saylors has always expressed a fascination for the creation of objects and their subsequent power to generate emotion and response from an audience. Saylors went on to win a national art contest at the age of 12, and eventually she attended Watkins Art Institute where she studied under renowned sculptor Jo Davidson. Her subject matter ranges from wildlife to western, however Saylors chooses to focus mainly on children saying, “The intensity with which a child concentrates on something is what I want to express.” Today Saylors' sculpture can be found in numerous public places around the world, including her monumental sculpture for the Centennial Celebration of Ponca City and her Lady of Justice at the Oklahoma Bar Foundation in Oklahoma City. Her works have been exhibited at the National Audubon Society as well as the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute. She has also been featured in several publications including Southwest Art, Southwest Profiles, and the Santa Fean.