20th century African-American art collector Paul R. Jones dies in Atlanta at age 81
By APThursday, January 28, 2010
African-American art collector dies in Atlanta
ATLANTA — Paul R. Jones, an Alabama native who built one of the largest collections of 20th century African-American art, has died in Atlanta. He was 81.
University of Alabama spokeswoman Angie Estes says Jones died Tuesday after a brief illness.
The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is at the university. The school received 1,700 paintings and photographs valued at $5 million in 2008.
Jones began collecting art in the 1960s and was soon drawn to African-American pieces after noticing the art was vastly underrepresented in public galleries. He also donated some 900 works to the University of Delaware.
Besides being an art collector, Jones was a civil rights activist.
He was a native of Bessemer, Ala., in the central part of the state. Jones had lived in Atlanta for several decades.
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