161

Calvin B. Jones

(1934-2010)

I Always Dress Up When I Go Out To Dance.

Acrylic and collage on canvas, 1988.
72 x 72 in. (182.9 x 182.9 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Isobel Neal Gallery, Chicago.
    Private collection, Chicago.
  • Exhibited:
    Calvin Jones in Living Color, Isobel Neal Gallery Ltd., Chicago, IL, 1987.
  • Notes:
    Artist, muralist, and illustrator Calvin B. Jones was a member of the Black Arts Movement and an Afro-futurist. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received his BFA in drawing/painting and illustration in 1957. Jones' initial 17-year career was in advertising. He was Hallmark Cards' first African American Art Director and worked for the first Black-owned ad agency, Vince Cullers Advertising (founded in 1956). Additionally, Jones worked with his own company, Sales Graphics Advertising. In 1976, he became a community mural leader in Chicago and collaborated with Mitchell Caton on six Chicago murals.

    Jones received corneal transplants in the 1980s, which restored his eyesight, leading from his focus on figurative Afro-futurism to abstraction. He used textural compositions with intense colors, often incorporating objects into the paintings, such as rocks, feathers, dyed fabric, and papier-mache.

    As a freelancer, he was commissioned by Seagram Company and the Hiram Walker Foundation to paint what became the Beefeater set of limited-edition prints, "The Art of Good Taste." The program earned five awards from Beverage Dynamics, along with the PRAME Award for best ethnic campaign from the National Association of Market Developers and the National Black Public Relations Society.
  • Condition:
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April 2, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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