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A Century of African American Art: The Paul R. Jones Collection

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Paul R. Jones differs from the typical collector of world-class art in too many ways to enumerate. For one thing, he is not independently wealthy nor did he inherit a fortune - no, this son of a miner grew up in a work camp, and for most of his life, his "day job" has been public service. But he has brought to his collection - and therefore, to us - a personal passion, curiosity and creativity unsurpassed by the likes of Guggenheim or Getty.

The "dean of African American collectors," Jones avoided trend buying and operated outside the more traditional acquisition modes. He occasionally purchased work he "did not understand by artists he did not know" because, in his words, "something in it drew me in...and I trusted it to take me somewhere..." Buying from (at the time) relative unknowns, his purchase often paid the month's rent or put food on the table.

The result of this 40 year commitment to African American artists is a magnificent panorama encompassing 1500 works by the likes of Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Betye Saar and more than 60 others. This astounding collection has been donated to the University of Delaware's University Museum, and this book helps celebrate the first major exhibition of works drawn from it.

The book presents gorgeous reproductions of more than 100 works by 66 artists, with biographical information about them and also about Jones. But it's not a mere exhibition catalog; it also presents ten thought-provoking essays which intentionally strive to "de-race" African American art, placing it within the larger picture of the nation's history and cultural traditions. For example, Ikem Stanley Okoye's essay "Reign(ing) in Color: Toward a Wilder History of American Art" explores how the systematic use of color serves purposes other than surface appearance.

A magnificent book to celebrate a magnificent collection.