Governor Francis Anthony Keating
by Jo Saylors
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. Keating and his wife, Cathy, are the parents of three children, Carrie, Kelly, and Chip.
Governor Francis Anthony Keating by Jo Saylors was dedicated in 2003. The commission was managed by the Oklahoma Arts Council. The bust is located in the Hall of Governors on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol and can be viewed daily from 8:30-5:30.
The Artist
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 Saylor chooses to focus mainly on
children saying, “The intensity with which a child concentrates on something
is what I want to express.” Today Saylor’s 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.