Myrtle Jones (January 23, 1913 – February 15, 2005)[1] was an artist whose paintings commonly featured streetscapes and architecture of Savannah, Georgia, as well as portraits.
Jones was born in Winder, Forsyth County, Georgia[2] and moved to Savannah in 1943.[1] A professional hairdresser,[3] Jones formally took up painting in 1950 when she studied at the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences under Emil Holzhauer (among others).[4] Despite this training she has been identified as a self-taught artist,[1][3] and considered herself to be self-taught.[4] In 1964 she purchased a house on Gaston Street in Savannah's historic district and used it as her home and studio through the remainder of her career.[1]
Jones' work is considered distinct for its balance of modern and representational approaches.[4] During the 1950s and early 1960s, she utilized strong colors, brushstrokes and lines in her portraits, which Jones referred to as her "dark and bold period".[4] Her later works gravitated towards light colors to create a "faded" effect.[3] Throughout her career Jones depicted everyday life in Savannah, through subjects including urban streetscapes, buildings, landscapes, and portraits of locals. Jones was a prolific painter, possibly creating thousands of works within her lifetime.[1] She posthumously donated some of her paintings to the Telfair Museum of Art along with a one million dollar endowment.[3]
Selected exhibitions
Women Artists in Savannah. Telfair Academy, March 13, 2015[5]
Exposed! Telfair Women Artists & Patrons. Telfair Museum of Art, March 12 – April 21, 1996[6]
Looking Back: Art in Savannah 1900-1960. Telfair Museum of Art, July 16 – September 15, 1996[4]
^Phagan, Patricia (2 February 2021) [28 July 2006]. "Art in Georgia from 1895 to 1960". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
