l Mj Exhibition Guide

8/11/2019 l Mj Exhibition Guide

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Los Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Colorwas developed by the Mint Museum of Artin Charlotte, North

Carolina, in collaboration with the Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust, and toured byInternational Arts

& Artists, Washington, D.C. This guide is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.


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November 14, 2009 through February 28, 2010

The Mint Museum of Art

Charlotte, NC

July 3, 2010 through September 26, 2010

Polk Museum of Art

Lakeland, FL

October 9, 2010 through January 9, 2011

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Washington, DC

January 29, 2011 through April 24, 2011

Hunter Museum of American Art

Chattanooga, TN

May 21, 2011 through July 23, 2011

The Womens Museum: An Institute for the Future

Dallas, TX

August 27, 2011 through November 6, 2011

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

Laurel, MS

January 12, 2012 through February 23, 2012

Mitchell Gallery, St. Johns College

Annapolis, MD

March 17, 2012 through June 17, 2012

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

Montgomery, AL

October 6, 2012 through January 4, 2013

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens

Jacksonville, FL

Exhibition Tour Schedule forLos Mailou Jones:A Life in Vibrant Color

Contents

Exhibition Schedule

1Introduction

2Exhibition Highlights and Timeline

10Compare and Contrast

16Youth Activities

17 Writing activity

18Adinkra symbols

20Draw your own self-portrait

22Selected Bibliography

For an updated tour schedule, go towww.artsandartists.org/exhibitions/loismailoujones.html


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This educational guide accompanies Los Mailou Jones: A Life in

Vibrant Color,a traveling exhibition that reveals the skill, devo-

tion and accomplishments of the artist. Her artwork synthesizes

African, Caribbean, American and African American iconography.

Joness skillful renderings of the figure, her humanistic portrayalof African Americans and professional women, and her develop-

ment of her exuberant palette have all contributed to making her a

substantial and remarkable American artist. Joness legacy shared

with future generations as she is recognized in exhibitions and

through representation in important museum collections.

In this educational guide, you will find exhibition highlights which

gives information about selected works and an illustrated time-

line that chronicles the life of Los Mailou Jones. You will also

be able to compare and contrast several works by Jones with

guided questions from the exhibition curator, Carla Hanzal. Thefinal activities in this guide are oriented for younger audiences.

Additional resources can be found in the back of this guide for

those who are interested in learning more about the life of Los

Mailou Jones and other African American artists.

Los Mailou Jones (1905-1998)was

a pioneering and accomplished20th-century artist who overcame

racial and gender prejudices during

her long career and achieved great

success as both a designer and

painter. Her influence as a teacher

impacted several generations of

African American artists and extendedbeyond her native country.

Jones in her Paris studio with kitten, c. 1938

1


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Jones begins spending summers on

Marthas Vineyard, where her grand-

mother, Phoebe Moseley Adams Bal-

lou, is employed as a housekeeper

and nanny. After years of saving,

Ballou purchased land in Edgartown

and Oak Bluffs, MA. Jones remembersbeing encouraged as a young child to

draw and paint, and was given mate-

rials to cultivate her talent.

Exhibition Highlights and Timeline

1906 1909

Los Mailou Jones is born November 3

in Boston, MA, to Thomas Vreeland

Jones (1874-1934) and Carolyn Dorin-

da Adams Jones (1870-1954). She is

their second child.

Thomas and Carolyn Jones purchased

a home in Oak Bluffs in 1909, and re-

turned there every summer. Joness

neighbor, Harlem Renaissance writer

Dorothy West (1907-1998), becomes

Joness lifelong friend.

Los Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color Family Guide | 2

Los Mailou Jones and her Mother, CarolynJones, 1906

Jones, Dorothy West and friends, Marthas Vineyard, c. 1913


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3

Attends Harvard University during the

summer session. Shifts focus from de-

sign to the fine arts.

Attends the High School of Practical

Arts (HSPA) in Boston and wins an-

nual scholarships to attend evening

and Saturday classes at the Museumof Fine Arts, Boston.

In 1923 Jones graduates from the High

School of Practical Arts. At age 17,

holds her first solo exhibition at the

home of Mrs. Henry A. Ritter, Vine-

yard Haven, Marthas Vineyard.

Jones is admitted to the School of

the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as

a design major. She receives the Su-

san Minot Lane Scholarship in Design

each year.

Graduates with honors from the

School of the Museum of Fine Arts,Boston and receives certificate from

the Boston Normal Art School.

1923

Receives a scholarship to pursue gradu-

ate work at the Design Art School of

Boston and receives diploma. Begins

career as a freelance textile designer for

F.A. Foster Company, Boston, MA. and

Schumacher Company, New York, NY.

19271919 1928

Design for Cretonne #8c. 1928, tempera on paper

Courtesy of Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

Los Mailou Joness early academic training at the High School

of Practical Arts in Boston prepared her for a career in design.

She also took evening classes at the Boston Normal Art School

(now the Massachusetts College of Art) in 1926. Later, Jones

pursued graduate studies at the Designers Art School of Bos-

ton and began working as a freelance designer for F.A. Foster

Company in Boston and the Schumacher Company in New York.

Her designs for cretonne fabric (a printed cotton fabric used for

upholstery and drapery) varied greatly from traditional floral

designs, ranging instead to exotic landscapes and abstract pat-

terns. Despite creating popular and marketable designs, Jones

remained anonymous. Her desire for recognition fueled her

resolve to pursue the fine arts, specifically painting.

Exhibition Highlight

Jones at the Palmer Memorial Institute, c. 1929, Papers ofLMJ/Moorland Spingarn Research Center


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1928 1930

Invited by Charlotte Hawkins Brown

(1883-1961) to establish an art de-

partment at Palmer Memorial Insti-

tute in Sedalia, NC, a prep school for

African American youth.

Joins the faculty of the art depart-

ment of Howard University in Wash-ington, D.C., as a design instructor.

1931

Participates inWork of Negro Artists

exhibition presented by the Harmon

Foundation.

Jones at Howard University, 1930


Attends Columbia University and undertakes

studies of masks from various cultures,

including Native American, Inuit and African

ethnic groups.

Meets her future husband, Louis Vergniaud

Pierre-Nel (1910-1982).

Solo exhibitions at Hampton Universi-

tys Founders Day in Virginia and How-

ard University Gallery of Art, sponsored

by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Receives General Education Board fel-

lowship to study in Paris at the Aca-

dmie Julian; sails aboard the S.S. Nor-mandie le Havre. Mary Beattie Brady,

director of the Harmon Foundation,

advises Jones to take a sketchbook on

the voyage.

Rents studio apartment in Paris. Estab-

lishes relationship with classmate C-

line Tabary (1908-1989) who becomes a

lifelong friend.


Completes Parisian Beggar Woman,

with poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

supplying text. By May, the walls of

Joness studio are filled with her Paris

artwork. Completes 30 illustrations for

Carter G. Woodsons bookAfrican Heroes

and Heroines.In September, returns to

Howard University as an instructor indesign and watercolor painting.

Receives the Robert Woods Bliss

Award for Landscape, The Society of

Washington Artists, from the Corcoran

Gallery of Art, for Indian Shops Gay

Head, Massachusetts(1940). Because

African Americans are excluded from

the exhibition, Joness friend ClineTabary submits the painting to the

annual competition. The award is

subsequently mailed to Jones.

Exhibits work at The Phillips Collection,

Washington, D.C., and Seattle Museum

of Art, Seattle, WA.

Jones and Cline Tabary teach art

classes in Joness Washington stu-

dio, which becomes known as Little

Paris.

1934 1935 1937 1938 1941 1943

Jones leaving for Paris from New York,c. 1945, Papers of LMJ/Moorland SpingarnResearch Center


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Los Mailou Jones: Peintures 1937-

1951is published in Paris. It contains

more than 100 reproductions of her

French paintings.

5

Receives AB degree in Art Education

(magna cum laude) from Howard Uni-

versity.

Spends summer in France. Shares

studio with Cline Tabary and visits

the South of France.

Exhibits work at Corcoran Gallery of

Art Biennial Exhibition (also in 1953

and 1955).

In 1929, Jones agreed to pioneer an art department at the Palmer Memorial Institute in

Sedalia, North Carolina. The paintings from her time at Palmer depict scenes from nearby

woods neighboring the schools sheltered campus. This piece, painted in the midst of the

countrys Great Depression, reflects Joness interest in her surroundings, her expertise in

watercolor, and provides an early testament to her use of African Americans as subjects

for her paintings.

Sedalia, North Carolina1929, Watercolor on paper, 13 x 19 inches

Collection of Drs. Christopher (Trustee) and Marilyn Chapman, promised gift to the Mint

Museum of Art

19521945 1951

Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of

Arts, London, England.

Serves as guest professor at Centre

dArt and Foyer des Arts Plastiques,

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is invited

by the Haitian government to paint

Haitis landscape and people.Marries Louis Vergniaud Pierre-Nol,

award-winning Haitian graphic artist,

on August 8 in Cabris, France, Cline

Tabarys hometown.

Solo exhibition at the Pan American

Union Building, Washington, D.C.,

and unveils portraits of then Haitian

President Paul Magliore and his wife

commissioned by President Dwight D.

Eisenhower to honor their visit to the

United States.

19541953 1955 1960 1962

Receives First Award in oil painting from

the Smithsonian Museum of Ameri-

can Art, Washington, D.C., for Fishing

Smacks, Menemsha, Massachusetts.



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1968

Receives a Howard University Re-

search Grant for The Black Visual

Arts to conduct interviews and

document the work of contempo-

rary Haitian artists.

Receives the grant again to docu-

ment the work of artists in Africa

and the United States. Travels to

11 countries between April and

July 1970.

1970 1972 1973 1974 1975

Early in her career, Jones realized that a major objective of African American artists would be to create a

black figurative tradition that could rehabilitate and humanize African American imagery. In Mob Victim

(Meditation), Jones addresses the historical treatment of the black male and the brutality of lynching. When

it came to determining the appropriate facial expression, her model took a cue from his own experience,

having once witnessed a man being lynched in the South. He recalled that the plantations foreman just put

him in the wagon, tied his hands, and the brother just fastened his eyes on the heavens. In this painting,

the subjects ardent upward gaze turns an image of fatalistic defeat into one of inspiring strength.

Mob Victim (Meditation)1944, Oil on canvas, 41 x 25 inches

Courtesy of Stella Jones Gallery

Retrospective solo exhibition 40 Years

of Painting, 1931-1972at Howard Uni-

versity Gallery of Art.

Travels and paints in Africa and

France. Completes Ode to Kinshasa

and Ubi Girl from Tai Region.

Solo retrospective exhibition Reflec-

tive Momentsat the Museum of Fine

Arts, Boston.

Receives Howard Universitys Fine Arts

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teach-

ing (1974-1975).

Exhibits work at Corcoran Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C.



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7

Exhibits Two Centuries of Black American

Artat Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

CA. Exhibition travels through 1977.

Retires from Howard University as pro-

fessor emerita.

1976 1979

Holds solo exhibition at The Phillips

Collection, Washington, D.C.

1980

Jones is one of 10 artists present-

ed with an Award for Outstanding

Achievement in the Visual Arts by

President Jimmy Carter at the White

House.

1982

Joness husband, Louis Vergniaud

Pierre-Nol, dies on April 27.

1983

Washington, D.C, television reporter

Max Robinson purchases Leigh Whip-

perand arranges for Madame Lillian

Evanti to go to the National Portrait

Gallery in Washington, D.C, and for

Chou-Fleur et Citrouille, Paris to goto the Metropolitan Museum of Art in

New York, NY.

Film titled Los Mailou Jones: Fifty

Years of Painting is presented at

Howard University by filmmaker Abiyi

Ford.

1984

July 29 is declared Los Mailou Jones

Day in Washington, D.C.

Receives Outstanding Achievement

Award in the Visual Arts, Womens

Caucus of Art, Cooper Union, NY.

Receives honorary doctorate in fine

arts, Massachusetts College of Art,

Boston, and an honorary doctorate in

humane letters from Howard University,

Washington, D.C.

1986 1987 1988

Jones opens Los Mailou Jones Studio

Gallery in Edgartown, MA (on Mar-

thas Vineyard).

1989

Returns to France to visit Cline Tabary.

Completes eight paintings.

Suffers a heart attack on her 84th

birthday; undergoes bypass surgery

10 days later.

1990

January - August 1990: Holds solo ret-

rospective, The World of Los Mailou

Jones, at Meridian House Internation-

al in Washington, D.C. Exhibition later

travels throughout the United States.

Jones visits each of the 17 venues to

present a talk of her life and art.


Jones with President Carter receiving the Award for OutstandingAchievement in the Visual Arts, c. 1980, Papers of LMJ/MoorlandSpingarn Research Center


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Painted when Los Mailou Jones was 89 years old,Edgartown Beachprovides a symbolic portrait of where theartist came from and where she found herself at this late stage in her life and career. In the late 1800s, Joness

maternal grandmother, Phoebe Ann Ballou, worked for a wealthy family on the posh and secluded Massachusetts

island of Marthas Vineyard, and invested her wages in property on Edgartown Beach. After she suffered a heart

attack in 1989, Jones recuperated on Marthas Vineyard and attributed her speedy recovery to its tranquility and

healing powers. This brightly colored idyllic landscape exhibits a return to her earlier style of realistic painting,

but also represents her range of freedom to paint whatever she pleased at this point in her career.

Edgartown Beach1994 Watercolor, 17 x 23 inches

Courtesy of Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

The Life and Art of Los Mailou Jones,

written by Dr. Tritobia Hayes Benja-

min, is published by Pomegranate

Press.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art hosts a

birthday party for Jones to coincide

with the presentation of The World

of Los Mailou Jones exhibition. The

artist is offered and accepts a pub-

lic apology for the institutions past

prejudicial policies.

1994

Los Mailou Jones dies in Washing-

ton, D.C., on June 9; she is buried in

Oak Bluffs Cemetery on Martha's

Vineyard.

1998




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Early Works,an exhibition of Joness

textiles and textile designs, is pre-

sented at the African American Mu-

seum in Philadelphia, PA; Delta Fine

Arts Center, Winston-Salem, NC;

Featherstone Gallery, Oak Bluffs, Mar-

thas Vineyard, MA; and Brenau Uni-versity Galleries, Gainesville, GA.

Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

establishes a scholarship in her name

at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,

and a scholarship fund at the Howard

University Department of Fine Arts.

Los Mailou Jones: The Early Works,

Paintings and Patterns 1927-1937 is

presented at the School of the Mu-seum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Dr. Christopher Chapman, trustee of

the Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust,

publishes Los Mailou Jones: A Life in

Color.

2005 2006

9

2007 2008

Los Mailou Jones, 1994



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La Mre, Paris

1938 Oil on linen, 31 x 25 inchesCourtesy of Lis Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

Painted in the same year that Jones completed her coursework at the esteemed

Acadmie Julian in Paris, France, La Mre, Paris reflects Joness unprecedented

exposure to and admiration of American impressionist art popularized in France

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This softly modeled, seemingly deli-

cate painting pays homage to the immortalized Western subject matter of the

Madonna and Child as well as to impressionist pioneer Mary Cassatt. Cassatts

now infamous images of the intimate relationship between mother and child likely

served as a source of inspiration for this piece. In 1940, this painting received

1st award in oil painting at the National Museum of Art in Washington, D.C. (now

the Smithsonian American Art Museum).

Points to Consider

Compare/contrast the subject matterof the mother/child theme and discuss how Joness treatment of thesubjects differ.

How do thediffering color palettes/backgrounds

change the overall feeling and meaning of the work?

Notice that both mothers, in La Mre, Parisand Mre duSenegal,are fixated entirely on the care of their chil-dren.What does this communicate to the viewer?



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Mre du Senegalrepresents Los

Mailou Joness return to the subject

matter of mother and child seen in

the earlier work titled La Mre, Paris(1938). The contrast of the two central

figures with the bright geometric

background became a signature in

Joness African-inspired artwork. Given

her early career in textile design,

much of her work inspired by Africa

can be easily translated into cloth

and was undoubtedly influenced by

the enormous prevalence of textile

artistry in African nations. This work

correlates with the core elements of

AfriCobra, a Chicago-based movement

of the 1960s and 1970s that sought

out art that utilized asymmetrical

compositions freely based on Afri-

can music as well as lively colors,

figures and forms translated from

African imagery.

Mre du Senegal1985, acrylic, 25 x 26 inches

Courtesy of Lis Mailou Jones

Pierre-Nol Trust

11

Compare/Contrast Selected Works La Mre, Paris vs. Mre du Senegal


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Compare/Contrast Selected Works Jennie vs. Peasant Girl, Haiti

A year after Jones married Haitian artist Louise Vergniaud Pierre-Nol, the president of Haitiinvited the newlyweds to Haiti so Jones could create a series of paintings for the upcoming

Pan American Union with President Eisenhower. In the process of portraying the beauty of the

Haitian landscape, people and culture, Jones fell in love with her husbands home country and

her affection spilled onto her canvases. Her colors became brighter, her style more abstracted

and her subject matter was completely reinvented. Peasant Girl, Haiti appears strikingly similar

toJennie (1943) in that it conveys the utter humanity, strength and hard work of these young

black females, separated by so many social, political and cultural factors yet unified by their

determined gaze and by their hands affixed to the task at hand.

Peasant Girl, Haiti1954, Oil on canvas, 37 x 27inches

Wasdworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT.

The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collections Fund, endowed by Clair and Millard Pryor

in memory of Patricia Wiggins for her years of dedication to the arts and trustee stewardship at the

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and The Amistad Foundation.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art/Art Resource, NY


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Points to Consider

Compare/contrast the way the young female subjectsare dressed, positioned,and their respective settings.

How do their expressions differ? How are they alike?

Notice that Jennie is fixated on cleaning the fish in the

kitchen setting and the Peasant Girl seems to be rest-ing after carrying things to and from market. Do youthink these are staged or a glimpse of everyday life? Whyor why not?Does either picture feel authentic? Whyor why not?

This painting may well have been the direct result of a conversation between Los

Mailou Jones and Alain Locke (1885-1954), a fellow professor and the head of the

philosophy department at Howard University. Locke urged Jones and other African

American artists to honor their African heritage and introduce uplifting imagery of

African Americans into the American aesthetic landscape. During the 1940s, Jones

and her friend Cline Tarbary held Saturday morning art classes at Joness home on

Kalorama Road in Washington, D.C. Jennie, one of their students, provided just the

inspiration. Attired in a cheerful yellow dress, Jennie makes the task of cleaning fish

dignified. Her eyes remain focused on the task at hand, yet she is not depicted as

subordinate, but rather as steadfast and determined.

Jennie1943, Oil on canvas, 35 x 28 inches

Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

13


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Compare/Contrast Selected Works Paris Rooftops, Montmatre vs. Street Vendors, Haiti

Paris Rooftops, Montmartre1965, Acrylic on canvas, 31 x 31inches

Collection of Robert and Elaine Jones

During the summers of 1964-1966, Los Mailou Jones and her husband, Lou-

ise Vergniaud Pierre-Nol, spent summers in Haiti and France. This painting,completed in 1966, is a tightly composed study of a nocturnal, architectural

compositionrooftops, skylights, and dormers as seen from a window in the

Montmartre neighborhood of Paris. Jones selected a decidedly cool and reserved

palette, with a predominance of blue, violet and grey and hard-edged outlines

define the geometric arrangement of the roofs and buildings. Within this painting

there is a startling polarity between the ordinariness of day and the mystery

and melancholy of darkness. There are few traces of human activity, and the

absence of individuals underscores the respite and solitude offered by night.



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In 1977, Los Mailou Jones retired from Howard University after serving as a professor

of Watercolor and Design for 47 years. One year later, she returned to one of her most

influential and inspiring locations, Haiti. Street Vendors, Haitirepresents not only howJones allowed her physical surroundings to guide her choices of style, color and subject

matter, but also how she truly covered the whole gamut of painting, from Realism to

Abstractionism, Impressionism and Cubism. In this painting the rigid figures hearken

back to Nubian (Egyptian) sculpture. This blending of aesthetics from one African culture

to another echoes Joness belief that Haiti and Mother Africa were akin: closely related

and still closely connected.

Street Vendors, Haiti1978, Acrylic, 53 x 40 inches

Courtesy of Lis Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

Points to Consider

Notice how the stylization/use of linein these two paintings,Paris Rooftops andStreet Vendors, contrasts with the greaterbody of Joness work, especially the earlier works.

What does this more modernized rendition of the Parisian cityscene communicate about the subject matterand/or theartists relationship with the setting?

How does the incorporation of four stylized human figures (streetvendors) in the Haitian scene change this cityscape/landscape

in comparison to the figureless rooftop scene?

Notice the cool hues in the Parisian scene and more warm huesin the Haitian scene. How does this add to the meaning and/oryour interpretation of each piece individually?

15


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Youth Activities


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17Fisher Folk, Luly, Haiti, 1985, Watercolor, 17 3/4 x 23 1/2 inchesCourtesy of Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust

Write your thoughts about the exhibition

What is your favorite image and why?Are there any images you did not like, if so why?


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Adinkra Symbols

During a sabbatical from Howard University, Jones spent two years (1970-72) document-ing, exploring, photographing and lecturing in 11 African nations. In her African Series,painted during this period, work including Dahomey(1971) and Ubi Girl (1972) drawupon the symbols, art objects, textiles, colors and aesthetic stylesshe spent her days

documenting in that region. Upon close inspection, it appears that Jones utilized theGhanian symbolist language called Adinkra, which originally derived from the Asantepeople and is commonly used on Adinkra cloth to communicate important culturalthemes and philosophy. Through her African Series she allowed all these new visualelements to fuse with others she saw from the region as well as the immense visuallanguage she acquired throughout her life.

Right:Dahomey, 1971, Acrylic,53 x 49 inches, Courtesy ofLis Mailou Jones Pierre-NolTrust

Left: Ubi Girl from Tai Region,1972, Acrylic on canvas, 43

x 60 inches, Museum ofFine Arts Boston. The HaydenCollectionCharles HenryHayden Fund, Photograph 2009 Courtesy, Museum ofFine Arts, Boston.


We are linked together like a chain, we are linked in

life, we are linked in death, men share a common bloodrelation, never break away from one another.

Adinkra proverb from Ghana

MMUSUYIDEE that which removes bad luck

Example Adinkra Symbols

Adinkra Symbols in Jones Work

SANKOFA return and get it

MPATAPO knot of reconciliation

NYAME DUE tree of God

MMERE DANE time changes


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19

3Take a symbolfrom the Adinkraglossary and discuss it with a

partner.Interpret the symboland suggest meanings.Thendisclosethe Adinkra meaning

anddiscuss thesimilarities/dif-

ferenceswith their answers.

1Pick an object(can be broughtfrom home) and switch it with an

object picked by a partner. Cre-ate symbols for these objectsand suggest meanings of thesesymbols. Then share and explorewith this partner how your sym-

bols are alike/different.Explore

how your individual interpreta-

tions are alike/different.

2Take a broad concept(suchas love, forgiveness, generosity,hope, etc.) and create a symbol

for it.

What kind of symbols, patterns, and designs reflect your culture?

What visual tools would you use to communicate about yourself,your cultureor any group you are affiliated with such as family,church or your school?

How would you synthesize these symbols/patterns/designs into a

piece of art that communicatesyour individual story?

4Ask a partnerthe following questions and have themcomplete a piece of artwork that utilizes their answers.

Suggested Activities with Adinkra SymbolsYouth Activities


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Rather than only drawing yourself, includesomething in your picture that will tell oth-ers about who you are, what you like to do, orwhere you live.

When youve finished, pin your drawing up andstand back from it. Are you satisfied with theresult? If so,sign and date your drawing at thebottom.If not, try another one. Youll get betterwith practice.

Youth Activities

Materials: a pencil and a mirror.

Draw your own Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait,1940, Casein on board, 18 1/4 x 15 inches

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2006


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21

To start your drawing,it is a goodidea to work outwards from the

center of your face.Start with your nose.Work slowly,

keeping your eye focused on thecontours of your face in the mirror.

Look downat your paper as littleas possible.

Selected Bibliography


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Books and Exhibition Catalogues

Bearden, Romare and Harry Henderson.A History of

African-American Artists: From 1972 to the Present.New

York: Pantheon Books, 1993.

Benjamin, Tritobia Hayes. The Life and Art of Los Mailou

Jones. San Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1994.Chapman, Chris. Los Mailou Jones: A Life in Color. New

York: Xlibris Corp., 2007.

Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America. Studio Museum

in Harlem. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987.

Hirshler, Erica E.A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in

Boston 1870-1940. Boston: MFA Publicat ions, 2001.

Jones, Los Mailou.Peintures 1937-1951. Tourcoing, France:

Presses Georges Frres, 1952.

Jones, Los Mailou.Reflective Moments: Los Mailou Jones,

Retrospective 1930-1972.[Boston: s.n.], 1973.

Jones, Los Mailou. The World of Los Mailou Jones: Me-

ridian House International, Washington, DC, January

28-March 18, 1990. Washington, DC: Meridian House

International, 1990.

LaDuke, Betty.Africa Through the Eyes of Women Artists.

Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1991.

Locke, Alain. The Negro in Art: A Pictorial Record of the

Negro Artist and of the Negro Theme in Art.New York:

Hacker, 1969.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.Afro-American Artists: New

York and Boston; The Museum of the National Center of

Afro-American Artists, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,

19 May-23 June 1970. [Boston]: Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston,1970.

Perry, Regenia. Free Within Ourselves: African-American Art-

ists in the Collection of the National Museum of American

Art.San Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks,1992.

Taha, Halima. Collecting African American Art: Works on

Paper and Canvas. New York: Crown Publishers, 1998.

Articles

Baker, Beth. Los Jones: after a 75-year quest for recogni-

tion, painter says At 90, I arrived. Ebony52.3, January

1997: 100-104.

Kennelly, Eleanor. Three cultures on an easel: Jones art

reflects travels, heritage. The Washington Times.16

September 1994: C12-14.

Robinson-English, Tracey. Celebrating Los Mailou Jones:

the grande dame of the art world (1905-1998). Ebony

61.2, Dec 2005: 124-128.

Rowell, Charles H. An Interview with Los Mailou Jones.

Callaloo12. 2, Spring 1989: 357-378.

Online

Bernard, Catherine. Patterns of Change: The Work of Los

Mailou Jones. Masters of African-American Art. (June

2003), www.artsnet.org/anyonecanfly/library/Bernard_on_

Mailou_Jones.html (accessed September 8, 2009).

Howard University Libraries. Los Mailou Jones 1905-1998.Art@Howard. http://www.howard.edu/library/Art@Howard/

LMJ/default.htm (accessed September 8, 2009).

Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nel Trust. http://www.loismailou-

jones.com/ (accessed September 8, 2009).

Film

Jones, Los Mailou. Los Mailou Jones: Fifty Years of Paint-

ing.Produced by Los Mailou Jones and Abiyi Ford. 53

mins. Washington, DC: Howard University, 1983, video-

cassette.

Unpublished/Manuscripts

Jones, Los Mailou. Interview by Theresa B. Danley. Tran-

script. Black Women Oral.

History Project. Columbia University. Oral History Research

Office, 1977.

Jones, Los Mailou. Papers. Howard University. Moorland-

Spingarn Research Center. Washington, DC

Selected Bibliography



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This educational guide was written by Lauren Harkey and

Carla Hanzal, Mint Museum of Art.

Developed and edited by Cynthia Fountain, Marlene

Rothacker, Rachel Brocato, and Penny Kiser, International

Arts & Artists.

Designed by Julia Compton, Design Studio, International

Arts & Artists.

The primary source for this guide is the publication,Los

Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color(Mint Museum of

Art, Charlotte, North Carolina: 2009) The Mint Museum.

The exhibition was developed by the Mint Museum of

Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, in collaboration with

the Los Mailou Jones Pierre-Nol Trust, and toured by

International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C. The guide is

funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.


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Documents

l Mj Exhibition Guide