UD is new home for magnificent collection of artworks

Bust of Mary Bethune

by Selma Burke

Paul R. Jones of Atlanta, a pioneer in the acquisition of African-American art, started collecting in the 1960s while working for the federal government in Atlanta.

"As I began to evidence an interest in art, I bought three reproductions of old masters," he said. "I got unstained frames, painted them and framed the prints. Those were the first things I ever hung up."

Quickly, however, his interest turned to original works primarily by African-American artists.

"Very early on, I had to determine a focus, and I sought to fill the gap created because museums were acquiring very little art by African Americans," Jones said. "The major art galleries were not including artists of color, with the exception of a blockbuster show every four or five years. I decided to focus on those artists, to expose them to the art world and the world of collecting and also to impact their futures. I've loaned my art frequently, so others have had their appetites whetted to collect. It has given the artists exposure to collectors and galleries so those galleries might become more inclusive.

"I started out with several pieces, a few of which I thought were excellent examples of fine art," Jones said. "That few became several and then a few hundred pieces, and I was always looking to add to the collection. As the result of lending out works, I got good feedback. It meant that somewhere along the way my eye was developing. I sought to find strong, mid-career and emerging artists with the maturity and talent to advance. Eventually, I focused on art that really appealed to me."

Part of the reason Jones had to check his interest was that, since the beginning, the collection has been stored primarily in his home. Today, it covers nearly every space on the walls and spills over into closets and drawers.

As one of the few collectors of African-American art in the 1960s, Jones became personally involved in the lives of many of the artists. There were times, he said, when his purchase provided the artist a meal or another month's rent--he didn't know whether he was a social worker or art collector.

"Pretty soon, artists began to beat a path to my door," Jones said. "Sometimes, I'd be buying from a well-known, mature artist and sometimes from a budding, new artist. In those days–as part social worker and part art collector–I bought from many struggling artists who were about to be evicted or didn't know where their next meal was coming from.

"Artists still beat a path to my door, and occasionally some almost wanted to give a work of art to me in order to be represented in the collection," Jones said. "Others come by because they want to get to know the collector. I regret that I cannot always respond by purchasing a work of art. I'm still collecting, but I now try to limit it so I'm broadening the base of artists in the collection and the styles represented."

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A lasting impact

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Jones said the art collection has had a profound influence on his life, both in his outlook and in the way he lives.

"The art has set the conditions on where I live and how I live. I've had to juggle the funds that came to me. I was not born rich and my jobs didn't make me rich," Jones said. "I've made most of my sacrifices with cars, for example. Instead of new cars, I've always bought used ones and used the funds to buy more art.

As he told a reporter from The New York Times last week, "I think I have probably spent proportionately more of my resources on art than a Rockefeller or a Mellon."

"I enjoy living with the art," he added. "I can see it when I wake up; I can commune with it each evening. The sensitivity that has gone into creating the work and the interaction with the artists has made me a much more sensitive, caring, loving person with a strong appreciation for art in all forms.

"I've been pleased to see a number of works appreciate, and I look forward to even more appreciation that will come as a byproduct of scholars and students studying, writing about and speaking about the collection at the University of Delaware. The result of their scholarship also will be that these artists will take their rightful place in the art world: museums, galleries and auction houses of the world," Jones said.

"I've seen changes that can be made when a person of color gains acceptance. Now, instead of just having someone speak during Black History Month, museums and galleries have increasing numbers of blacks on boards and on committees for acquisitions. We've achieved a great deal, but we can achieve a great deal more."

Jones said he is interested in seeing his collection used as a means to weave African-American art into the totality of American art so the works can receive their just due. "Look at my Charles White work 'John Henry' versus a Van Gogh," he said. "If my Charles White is worth $1 million and a Van Gogh is worth $80 million, is it really 80 times better?"

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Delaware connection

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The University of Delaware became aware of the Paul R. Jones Collection when William I. Homer, now H. Rodney Sharp Professor Emeritus of Art History at UD, traveled to Atlanta for a lecture after agreeing to serve on a committee for a doctoral student at Emory University. During the trip, he visited Jones at his home and immediately called colleagues who were planning an African-American art symposium on the campus. They wanted an exhibition of art appropriate for the theme. Homer knew he had found it.

Ties between Jones and the University were strengthened when works from the Jones Collection were included in an exhibition on campus in 1993. Five years later, the University Gallery mounted a special show of photographs by noted photographer P.H. Polk from the Paul R. Jones Collection.

"We were very taken by the foresight he had to begin collecting," Margaret Andersen, professor of sociology who was then interim dean of the College of Arts and Science, said. "What an extraordinary gift he has given us in this collection. The value of it is the legacy it leaves us about the creativity of people who lived under various forms of racism and oppression. What it says about the creativity of the human spirit among the African-American artists is deeply moving. It is exceptionally important in an educational setting."

Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, chief curator of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, said that appreciation for African-American art is on the upswing. "First and foremost, African-American artists have played a tremendously significant role in the evolution of American visual culture," she said.

"An appreciation of that role has been growing since the 1920s, although it was not until the 1980s that there was a concerted groundswell among collectors, dealers and museums to look consistently at the contributions African-American artists have made," she said.

"The trend within museums, the collecting community and the academic community is to regularly fold African-American artists into discussions of who has contributed to the visual record of this country," Hartigan said, adding, "It is important to understand the work was created as a specific and deliberate reflection of the culture it came from, but also to look at the work as part of the larger culture."

"It has long been Paul Jones' practice to generously share and celebrate these works with the broader public through loans and gifts to various museums," Belena S. Chapp, director of museums at UD, said. "Now, we are working together to ensure that future generations will comprehend and appreciate the distinguished contributions of these important African-American artists. In doing so, we will also continue the effort to properly incorporate within the scholarly canon and among the artistic community, a greater understanding of the pivotal role such artists have played.

"Through his dedication to the art of African Americans and his unselfish devotion to 'teaching by doing,' Paul Jones has taught several generations to value and learn from these works," she said.

"At the University of Delaware, we are honored by the trust he has placed on us to carry forth this mission."

John Henry by Charles White

Jones, Herman collections are unique contributions to UD

The Paul R. Jones Collection and the Frederick and Lucy S. Herman Native American Art Collection were received as part of the University's first-ever comprehensive fundraising effort for private support.

Announced by University President David P. Roselle in October 1998, the five-year Campaign for Delaware had a goal of raising $225 million in support of the University's seven colleges, the library and intercollegiate athletics: $50 million for student support, $35 million for faculty support, $40 million for academic program support, $50 million in capital support and $50 million in expendable gifts to the University.

In less than half the campaign term, more than $249 million has been raised for the Campaign for Delaware.

"At the end of the campaign period in October 2003, we are confident that we will be able to report that we have raised substantially more than $225 million, and also that we have achieved a litany of institutional improvements that are the direct result of the generosity of alumni and friends of the University of Delaware," Roselle said.