Nell Hinton Choate Jones (1879–1981) was an American artist and educator, who painted scenes of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

in a highly individualized expressionist style. Her style is characterized by the simplification of forms, rhythmic designs, and use of vibrant colors.

Biography

Nell Choate Jones was born in

Hawkinsville Hawkinsville is a city in Middle Georgia and the county seat of Pulaski County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, it has a population of 3,980. The city is known as the "Harness Horse Capital of Georgia" and holds an annual Harness Horse Fes ...

Pulaski County, Georgia Pulaski County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,855. The county seat is Hawkinsville. History Pulaski County was created by an act of the Georgia General A ...

. Her birth name was Nell Hinton Choate, and she was the daughter of Sarah Cornelia Roquemore and James Dearborn Choate, who served in the

Confederate army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

as Captain during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

(1861–65). Her cousin was Macon architect Ellamae Ellis League, and she was also a distant relative of Nell Choate Shute, the first wife of artist Ben Shute. Nell's father died when she was four, and the family moved to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She lived much of her life in Brooklyn until her death at the age of 101. Jones taught preschool and elementary school for many years. It wasn't until the 1920s that she began to study art at the encouragement of her husband Eugene A. Jones, a painter and etcher. She studied with Fred J. Boston, John Carlson, and Ralph Johonnot. She exhibited jointly with her husband in 1927 at Holt Gallery in New York City. Her impressionist scenes received considerable acclaim. In 1929, she attended the art school at Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in

Fontainebleau, France Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissem ...

on scholarship and later studied in England.James, A. E., Reed, D. V., Adelman, E. M., Four Sisters Gallery., & North Carolina Wesleyan College. (1999). Southern women painters 1880–1940: The collection of A. Everette James, Jr. and Nancy Jane Farmer : the Four Sisters Gallery : celebrating the art of the Coastal Plain : October 21, 1999 – February 25, 2000. Rocky Mount, NC: North Carolina Wesleyan College. She returned to Georgia in 1936 to attend the funeral of her sister. This inspired her to begin painting the South, which consumed her work for the next two decades. For example, her work ''Georgia Red Clay'' depicts the vibrant red color of Georgia's clay soil.The Morris Museum. Nell Choate Jones, Georgia Red Red. http://www.themorris.org/ourcollection/jones-redclay.html, accessed 7 March 2015. She became active in arts and women's organizations and contributed significantly to women's causes. She served as a member of the Southern States Arts League, Studio Traveling Guild, and

Boston Art Club The Boston Art Club is an arts organization in Boston, Massachusetts, which serves to help its members, as well as non-members, to access the world of fine art. It currently has more than 250 members. History The Boston Art Club was first conceive ...

. As a member of the

Pen and Brush Club Pen and Brush Club (also known as Pen + Brush) is an international organization of professional women, writers and artists. Organized in 1897, the women formed themselves into a club of which the object was to be recreation and the promotion of ...

, she won the first prize in 1946 and the Founder's Prize in 1951. She was president of the Brooklyn Society of Artists from 1949–1952 and was a board member of the

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

. She also served as the president of the

National Association of Women Artists The National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (NAWA) is a United States organization, founded in 1889 to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. It sponsors exhibitions, awards ...

in the 1950s. Jones was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

in 1972 and received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the

in 1979. She exhibited regularly across North America in the 1940s and 1950s as well as overseas in France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, and Japan. Her work can be found in many museums, including the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and the

Morris Museum of Art The Morris Museum of Art is an art museum in Augusta, Georgia. It was established in 1985 as a non-profit foundation by William S. Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, in memory of his parents, as the first museum dedicated to the coll ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

References

External links

Nell Choate Jones papers, 1924-1968

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

, Smithsonian Institution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Nell Choate 1879 births 1981 deaths People from Hawkinsville, Georgia Painters from Georgia (U.S. state) American women centenarians 20th-century American painters Painters from Brooklyn Schoolteachers from New York (state) American women educators 20th-century American women painters Educators from New York City

Biography

See also

References

External links