March 9, 1963: The first retrospective exhibition of the prints and drawings of John Paul Jones will open at The Brooklyn Museum on June 4 and continue through August 11, 1963. The exhibition will mark the publication of John Paul Jones, the first in a series of monographs on contemporary artists issued by the Museum under the supervision of Una E. Johnson, Curator of the Department of Prints and Drawings. This series is made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation Program in Humanities and the Arts.
John Paul Jones was born in Iowa in 1924, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he studied printmaking with Mauricio Lasansky. He has been an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of California since 1953 and has exhibited in major shows on the West Coast. The exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum, which will include 71 prints dating from the beginning of his career to the present (1948-1963), a selection of drawings and several recent small bronzes, will be his first one-man show on the eastern seaboard.
A draughtsman and printer of exceptional ability, Jones’ early work varies from figure studies to abstract themes during which period he experimented with the disciplines and intricacies of the graphic medium. His more recent work is characterized by the fusion of abstract and figurative elements in which he explores the world of symbol and fantasy.
In speaking of the artist, Miss Johnson comments that “John Paul Jones has been dedicated to the old and elemental visual language of drawing throughout his career. The delineation of forms has become a basic discipline in all his creative work. Through his own intuitive yet exacting shorthand, he crystalizes his ideas and reflections and gives them a very personal imagery and a rare measure of compassion.”
On Monday, June 3 from 9 to 11 p.m., there will be an invitational preview for the press, Museum members and their guests.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1953 - 1970. 1963, 007.
