Candidates for the Arts Merit Scholarship – Art History must submit a short writing sample

(maximum 800 words) on an art historical topic. Applicants may choose to address any art
historical theme they find interesting. Ideally, the writing sample will include the discussion of at
least one work of art, with a focus on the analysis of the work’s subject matter and style.

Lois Mailou Jones was one of the most influential artist and art teacher of the 20th century. Her works
are considered among the finest in the history of art and she continues to receive national attention and
research. Her arts are usually beautiful portraits of African themed abstraction and traditional
landscapes. She was influential as a teacher,not only for her exacting standards and the encouragement
she gave students, but as an example of persistence in a climate unfavorable to black and women artist.
Throughout her career, Jones has championed the international artistic achievement of African-
American art. She has also been an important role model for other African-American artist.
Originally Lois Mailou Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1905, and died in 1998. Her family
were appreciators of the arts; her father was a lawyer and art lover, and her mother was a
cosmetologist.
When Jones was young she studied in the High School of Practical Arts in Boston and later attended
the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 1928, she attended Howard University, where she
decided to focus on painting instead of design. She managed to take classes throughout her lifetime
which meant that she had much creative experience as she desired.
The painter is seen as an Impressionist but some of her painting is that of a Realist. This inconsistency
is possibly what makes Jones stand out from other painters of her time. She is known for painting,
illustration, and costume designs that make use of pastel and soft colours. This taste for colour style
was possibly the reason for her obsession with human portraiture. Jones was influenced by the Harlem
Renaissance movement and her countless international trips.
Brother Brown is one of the most famous masterpieces of the artist. It is a Social Realist watercolour
painting created in 1931. It depicts an African-American man,Brother Brown, sitting on a park bench,
smoking a pipe, under a tree. This painting shows a vertical viewpoint of the environment, which
emphasizes the realism of the grassy ground. In the foreground we see Brother Brown with great detail,
from his buggy clothes and posture, and he looks towards the viewer, which allows us to feel a
connection to his serene life and environment.
Les Fetiches is one of the oil on linen art of a series that depicts a collection of five different African
masks painted in the style of modernism. Arts that show the intimacy of African masks are some of
Jones specialties, where she makes great use of oil paint to show the African masks. In this painting the
masks are in strange positions, a red religious fetish is also in the foreground. The masks and fetish
appear to float in the mass of a black painted canvas, which allows us to interpret their togetherness and
suggests power as well as African traditionality. It also suggests her effort to draw strength and
protection from her cultural heritage in the face of discrimination.
In conclusion, Lois Mailou Jones was an impressionist and realist who sought to capture mood and old
life. She preferred to paint real-life scenarios and situations over landscapes and was a master at
painting humans in real-life attitudes, making her a valued member of the Art community in the world