diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 6d83dc4663..6f6b47668f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ jobs:
             cxx_compiler: g++-11
             cxx_std: 17
             fmt_ver: 9.1.0
-            openexr_ver: v3.1.7
+            openexr_ver: v3.1.11
             pybind11_ver: v2.11.1
             python_ver: "3.10"
             simd: avx2,f16c
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ jobs:
             cc_compiler: clang
             cxx_std: 20
             fmt_ver: 9.0.0
-            openexr_ver: v3.1.5
+            openexr_ver: v3.1.11
             pybind11_ver: v2.9.2
             python_ver: 3.8
             simd: avx2,f16c
diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index f1a12f0743..416ca1c1b1 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ NEW or CHANGED MINIMUM dependencies since the last major release are **bold**.
  * C++14 or higher (also builds with C++17, and C++20)
      * The default build mode is C++14. This can be controlled by via the
        CMake configuration flag: `-DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17`, etc.
+     * ADVISORY: We expect that OIIO 2.6 in 2024 will require C++17 or higher.
  * Compilers: gcc 6.1 - 12.1, clang 3.4 - 16, MSVS 2017 - 2019,
    Intel icc 17+, Intel OneAPI C++ compiler 2022+.
  * **CMake >= 3.15** (tested through 3.27)
diff --git a/src/cmake/testing.cmake b/src/cmake/testing.cmake
index beaa575fb0..ad677858e1 100644
--- a/src/cmake/testing.cmake
+++ b/src/cmake/testing.cmake
@@ -274,15 +274,19 @@ macro (oiio_add_all_tests)
     set (all_openexr_tests
          openexr-suite openexr-multires openexr-chroma
          openexr-v2 openexr-window perchannel oiiotool-deep)
+    if (OpenEXR_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.1.10)
+        # OpenEXR 3.1.10 is the first release where the exr core library
+        # properly supported all compression types (DWA in particular).
+        list (APPEND all_openexr_tests openexr-compression)
+    endif ()
     # Run all OpenEXR tests without core library
-    oiio_add_tests (${all_openexr_tests} openexr-compression
+    oiio_add_tests (${all_openexr_tests}
                     ENVIRONMENT OPENIMAGEIO_OPTIONS=openexr:core=0
                     IMAGEDIR openexr-images
                     URL http://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr-images)
     # For OpenEXR >= 3.1, be sure to test with the core option on
     if (OpenEXR_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.1)
         oiio_add_tests (${all_openexr_tests}
-                            # N.B. doesn't work yet: openexr-compression
                         SUFFIX ".core"
                         ENVIRONMENT OPENIMAGEIO_OPTIONS=openexr:core=1
                         IMAGEDIR openexr-images
diff --git a/src/libOpenImageIO/CMakeLists.txt b/src/libOpenImageIO/CMakeLists.txt
index d846ae684d..969c39af9e 100644
--- a/src/libOpenImageIO/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/libOpenImageIO/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -103,6 +103,18 @@ if (EMBEDPLUGINS)
     endforeach ()
 endif ()
 
+# Enable default use of OpenEXR core library for versions of the library
+# new enough to support DWA compression in exrcore.
+if (OPENEXR_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.1.10)
+    target_compile_definitions(OpenImageIO
+                               PRIVATE OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT=1)
+    message (STATUS "OpenEXR core library will be used by default")
+else ()
+    target_compile_definitions(OpenImageIO
+                               PRIVATE OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT=0)
+    message (STATUS "OpenEXR core library will not be used by default")
+endif ()
+
 # Source groups for libutil and libtexture
 source_group ("libutil"    REGULAR_EXPRESSION ".+/libutil/.+")
 source_group ("libtexture" REGULAR_EXPRESSION ".+/libtexture/.+")
diff --git a/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp b/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
index 6455b50b1a..fd7caa595b 100644
--- a/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
+++ b/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
@@ -41,7 +41,11 @@ atomic_int oiio_threads(threads_default());
 atomic_int oiio_exr_threads(threads_default());
 atomic_int oiio_read_chunk(256);
 atomic_int oiio_try_all_readers(1);
-int openexr_core(0);  // Should we use "Exr core C library"?
+#ifndef OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT
+#    define OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT 0
+#endif
+// Should we use "Exr core C library"?
+int openexr_core(OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT);
 int tiff_half(0);
 int tiff_multithread(1);
 int dds_bc5normal(0);
diff --git a/src/openexr.imageio/CMakeLists.txt b/src/openexr.imageio/CMakeLists.txt
index 00b7668b23..a24929ab69 100644
--- a/src/openexr.imageio/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/openexr.imageio/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,6 +10,16 @@ if (OIIO_USE_EXR_C_API AND TARGET OpenEXR::OpenEXRCore)
     list (APPEND openexr_src exrinput_c.cpp)
 endif()
 
+# Enable default use of OpenEXR core library for versions of the library
+# new enough to support DWA compression in exrcore.
+if (OPENEXR_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL 3.1.10)
+    list (APPEND openexr_defs OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT=1)
+    message (STATUS "OpenEXR core library will be used by default")
+else ()
+    list (APPEND openexr_defs OIIO_OPENEXR_CORE_DEFAULT=0)
+    message (STATUS "OpenEXR core library will not be used by default")
+endif ()
+
 add_oiio_plugin (${openexr_src}
     INCLUDE_DIRS ${OPENEXR_INCLUDES} ${IMATH_INCLUDE_DIR}/OpenEXR
     LINK_LIBRARIES