Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998)

Abstract

David C. Driskell I am convinced that meeting Lois Mailou Jones in 1950 was not an accident. I had heard of her much earlier. To many artists, educators, and former students, as well as countless art enthusiasts worldwide, Lois Mailou Jones was a grande dame of American art. To my good fortune, she became my teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend, and over the next forty-eight years, our creative dialogue would continue to be a wellspring of joyous exchange. I collected her work, prized its ownership, and exhibited it in the high places of American culture. Indeed, Jones lived to see her work collected by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, National Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Art in Houston, Hirshhorn Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and Corcoran Gallery of Art, to name a few notable places. Among the many citations she cherished, which included several honorary doctorate degrees and an honor by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 at a White House ceremony, was being elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of London in 1962. Jones's career as a painter, designer, and beloved teacher spanned more than seventyfive years. She applied her talents to graphic design, fabric art, and oil and watercolor painting to create sensitive and compelling works that drew upon her experiences in Europe, Haiti, Africa, and the United States. Although she considered herself first and foremost an American artist, she understood and graciously accepted the role affectionately bestowed upon her as Queen Mother of African-American art. As an educator, she worked diligently to instill in all her students the importance of art, art history, and culture, which she herself loved. Her death on 9 June 1998 in Washington, D.C.-her home for more than sixty-seven years-was a poignant reminder that she was the last of the women artists of her generation who provided a living link with the visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance.