D. Jeffrey Mims is a painter, educator, lecturer, and muralist working as a classical realist.
Biography
Mims attended the
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
(1972 - 1973) and the
(1973 - 1976). In 1976, he received an
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (formerly The Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation) is a private Canadian charity that provides grants to young artists working in representational painting, sculpture, drawing and/or printmaking. Re ...
grant to support independent study in the museums of England, France, and Italy and in 1981 returned to Florence, Italy where he studied with the American painter
Benjamin F. Long and received critiques from Long's Italian mentor,
Pietro Annigoni
Pietro Annigoni, OMRI (7 June 1910 – 28 October 1988) was an Italian artist, portrait painter, fresco painter and medallist, best known for his painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. His work was in the Renaissance tradition, contrasting w ...
. For over a decade, he maintained studios in Italy and the US, during which time he executed both easel and public mural paintings. In recognition for his work in traditional fresco painting, Classical America presented Mims with a
Arthur Ross Awardin 1984 for ‘excellence and integrity in the application of classical ideals’. He was awarded an Affiliated Fellowship at th
American Academy in Romein 2009 from
The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the appreciation and practice of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging with educators, professionals, students, and ...
. Mims has lectured on historic collaborations between artists and architects for, among other organizations, the ICAA and the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
. In recognition of his work with the Academy of Classical Design, the ICAA Southeast awarded Mims the first eve
Shutze Awardfor Pedagogy in 2020 at its annual ceremony in Atlanta. In 2021 Mims was invited to participate in a live-streamed symposium titled, �
After Raphael’which was co-sponsored by th
University of Notre Dame School of ArchitectureThe Rome Global Gateway th
Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the American Academy in Rome.
Academy

D. Jeffrey Mims is founder and director of th
Academy of Classical Designin Southern Pines, North Carolina. The Academy is a school of fine art with an emphasis on traditional mural painting and architectural decoration. The school began as Mims Studios in 2000 and was re-structured in 2011 as the Academy of Classical Design. As of 2023 the Academy will be temporarily closed for a period of two years to allow for the completion of the painted ceiling decorations. Updates will be posted to the Instagram account @academyofclassicaldesign.
Selected writings
*2016 "Creating a Classical Academy" Traditional Building Magazine. April 2016.
*2010 "Caput Mundi (Capital of the World)" Fine Art Connoisseur. July 2010. pp. 41 – 4
*2006 "Slow Painting / A Deliberate Renaissance" Oglethorpe University Museum, Atlanta, Georgia—catalogue with contributed essay.
Awards
* 1976 -
Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (formerly The Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation) is a private Canadian charity that provides grants to young artists working in representational painting, sculpture, drawing and/or printmaking. Re ...
grant
* 1984 - Classical America
Arthur Ross Award* 2009 - The Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America
Alma Schapiro Prize- Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome
[2009 Alma Schapiro Prize awarded by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America]
*2020 - ICAA Southeast – Philip Trammel
Shutze Awardfor Pedagogy
Bibliography
* Figueroa, Raphael, "Peter and John Heal a Man Who Was Lame,
Magic City Religion', November 22, 2020.
*D. Jeffrey Mims, "Caput Mundi (Capital of the World)," Fine Art Connoisseur, August 2010, vol. 7, i. 4, pp. 41–44, and cover illustration.
* Peter Bougie, "Intuition: An Interview with D. Jeffrey Mims," Classical Realism Journal, vol.VII, i.1, pp. 10–19, 10-19 illustration.
* Jerry Cullum, "Realism Lives In Contemporary Pieces," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Friday, November 10, 1995, Section P pp. 1, 12 illustration.
* Anderson, Kurt, "An Interview with D. Jeffrey Mims," Classical Realism Quarterly, May 16, 1990, pp. 12–15, 20-21 illustration.
* Keough, Patrick, "Reinventing Classical Realism," The Arts Journal, May 1990 pp. 14–15 illustration.
* Bretzius, Hunter, "Renaissance Man," Sun Journal, Thursday, April 5, 1990, pp. 1C-2 illustration.
* Nunnelley, William A., "Painting in the Old Way," Seasons, Fall 1988 pp. 8–9 illustration.
* Reeves, Garland, "Jeffrey Mims: An Artist Who Takes Long View of Things," The Birmingham News, Sunday August 21, 1988 p. 1E-7 illustration.
* Lauder, Val, "The Southern Artists," Southern Accents, Nov.-Dec. 1986 pp. 120–123, 146 illustration.
* Coles, William A., "D. Jeffrey Mims: A Painter's Odyssey," American Artist, October 1985 pp. 36–40, 78-82 illustration.
References
External links
Academy of Classical Design Website"Caput Mundi; The Capital of the World" pdf Feature Article in Fine Art ConnoisseurAlma Schapiro Award Page at the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America*
The Church of the Frescoes
Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, Co-Curator, "Slow Painting, A Deliberate Renaissance"Architects and Artisans, "'Pure Ornament' on Exhibit in Charleston""Creating a Classical Academy" pdf Traditional Building Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mims, D. Jeffrey
20th-century American painters
American male painters
21st-century American painters
New Classical architecture
Artists from North Carolina
Living people
1954 births
Rhode Island School of Design alumni
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni
20th-century American male artists