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.
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.
