Brad Finson Completed his MFA in painting at Kansas State University in 1995, after which he moved to Norman, Oklahoma where he entered the Master of Arts program at the University of Oklahoma. Having completed his MA with a major in Native American Art History, Brad continued his academic tenure by pursuing an inter-disciplinary Ph.D. under the auspices of the OU Graduate College, His Ph. D. was conferred in August, 2003. Both his Master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation dealt with the iconography of colors and symbols in the art of nineteenth-century Plains cultures, with an emphasis on the Cheyenne and Kiowa.

Dr. Finson continues to pursue research on color-symbol iconography, as well as the iconography of feathers in nineteenth-century Plains cultures. Present research endeavors include collaborative work on a Northern Cheyenne ledger book in conjunction with Gordon Yellowman of the Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma, and Linea Sundstorm of the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Finson is also a practicing artist, and is currently working on a body of drawings for future exhibition. Dr. Finson came to the University of Central Oklahoma as an adjunct professor in Art History, and teaches Art Survey I and II, and Native American Art. 

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