9:52 a.m., Jan. 28, 2010----Dr. Paul R. Jones, an important benefactor who donated the Paul R. Jones Collection of works by 20th century African American artists to the University of Delaware in 2001, died Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Atlanta after a brief illness. He was 81.

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The Paul R. Jones Collection is one of the oldest, largest and most complete holdings of African American art in the world, and includes works by such noted artists as Charles White, Herman "Kofi" Bailey, David Driskell, Elizabeth Catlett, Earl Hooks, Leo Twiggs, Stanley White, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, P.H. Polk and Selma Burke, who created the image of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that appears on the dime.

The collection is housed in UD's Mechanical Hall, site of many shows featuring works from the collection since the 2001 gift.

“Paul Jones was a remarkable man, and he will be missed by many, many colleagues and friends at the University of Delaware,” UD President Patrick T. Harker said. “In 2001, he changed the University of Delaware when he donated a sizable portion of his world-class collection of 20th century African American art to UD. That gift has made a tremendous difference here. The artwork is featured in public exhibitions and used in research and instruction, for special symposia and leadership training, so that all students may see the work and understand its significance artistically, culturally and historically. His gift is an extraordinary monument to an extraordinary man.”

Dr. Jones was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University in 2004, when he addressed members of the Class of 2008 during New Student Convocation at the Bob Carpenter Center. After greeting the students to great applause as “Blue Hens, Blue Hens, Blue Hens,” Dr. Jones told them, “I wish for each of you an adventure as grand and glorious as the one I've had and am continuing to enjoy. There is a Greek phrase, 'There is no possession more valuable than knowledge.' So, today, I urge you -- in your years at Delaware -- to focus on learning, contributing as you focus on friendship and fairness, caring and love.”

Dr. Jones most recently visited the Newark campus in September 2009 for the release of the book Living Art: The Life of Paul R. Jones, African American Art Collector (University of Delaware Press) by Margaret L. Andersen, Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware, and Neil Thomas, senior associate director in the Office of Communications and Marketing.

The Paul R. Jones Collection has led to a number of new programs on campus, many through the Paul R. Jones Initiative, as UD has built ties to many Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

In 2008, Dr. Jones made a second gift of the works in his collection, this to the University of Alabama in the state of his birth.

Dr. Jones is survived by his son P.R. Jones of California and his great niece and nephew Donna Northington and David Jones of Atlanta.

Arrangements are by Murray Brothers Funeral Home of Atlanta and a funeral service will be held at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road SW, in Atlanta, at a date and time yet to be determined.

Photo by Jon Cox