Robert Goodhue Jones (October 27, 1926 – October 2, 2018[1]) was an American artist and illustrator. Jones is best known for creating illustrations for the American gasoline company Exxon's "Put a tiger in your tank" campaign. He has also had works published in The Saturday Evening Post and MAD.
After moving to Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, in the early 1950s, Jones began working as an illustrator primarily for the Charles Cooper Studios. His works appeared in the magazines McCall's, The Saturday Evening Post, and Good Housekeeping.[1] By the 1960s, Jones had begun working as a freelance artist, primarily in the field of advertising. From 1964 to 1982, his work was used by the gasoline company Esso (now Exxon) for their advertising campaign "put a tiger in your tank", which featured Jones's illustrations of a cartoon tiger.[3][4][1] In 1976, he began working for MAD after editor Nick Meglin chose him to illustrate a cover.[1] Jones continued to serve at MAD for over twenty years, doing cover art, articles, and paperback books for the publication.[1]
Personal life
After retiring from the art industry, Jones held a summer residence on Block Island, where he pursued his pastimes of fishing and boating, in addition to painting.[2]
Jones was married to Ann Burton from c. 1949 to 1974. The couple had five children: Robert A., Timothy, Peter, Linda, and Martha. Timothy died in infancy, while Robert A. died in 1976 and Peter in 2016.[1] Jones died from complications of pulmonary fibrosis at age 91 in 2018. He is survived by his daughters and ex-wife.[1]
^ abPeter Voskamp (September 2, 2008). "Bob Jones: quite a draw!". Block Island Times. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
