Loïs Mailou Jones (November 3, 1905 – June 9, 1998)[1] was an influential artist and teacher during her seven-decade career. Jones was the only African-American female painter of the 1930s and 1940s to achieve fame abroad.[citation needed] Her career began in textile design before she decided to focus on fine arts. Jones looked towards Africa and the Caribbean and her experiences in life when painting. As a result, her subjects were some of the first paintings by an African-American artist to extend beyond the realm of portraiture. Jones was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance movement and her countless international trips.Lois Mailou Jones' career was enduring and complex. Her work in designs, paintings, illustrations, and academia made her an exceptional artist that continues to receive national attention and research.

Lois Mailou Jones' work is in museums all over the world and valued by collectors. Her paintings grace the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Portrait Gallery, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Palace in Haiti, the National Museum of Afro-American Artists among others.

After her death, her friend and adviser, Dr. Chris Chapman completed a book about her life and the African-American pioneers she had worked with and been friends with, including Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Alain Locke, Dorothy West, Josephine Baker, and Matthew Henson. Entitled Lois Mailou Jones: A life in color, it is available through Xlibris and museum stores.[24]

The Lois Mailou Jones Pierre-Noel Trust founded a scholarship in her name at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and a scholarship fund for the Department of Fine Arts at Howard University.[1]

In 2006, Lois Mailou Jones: The Early Works: Paintings and Patterns 1927–1937 opened at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibition showed thirty designs and paintings from the beginning of her career.[25]

From November 14, 2009, to February 29, 2010, a retrospective exhibit of her work entitled Lois Mailou Jones: A life in vibrant color was held at the Mint Museum of Artin Charlotte, North Carolina.[26] The traveling exhibit included 70 paintings showcasing her various styles and experiences: America, France, Haiti, and Africa.[27][18]

Jones is featured in a new publication, Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists.[28]

Bio courtesy of Wikipedia.  Link to full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Mailou_Jones