Francis Coates Jones Maryland (1857-1932) AN AFTERNOON READING oil on canvas, framed, signed: lower right, and inscribed on verso: Mrs. Jones Painting H26" W19 1/4" *Provenance: Mrs. Jordon; private collector, Palm Beach, Florida. *Artist biography: Genre-figure painter Francis Coates Jones, born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1857, first expressed an interest in art in 1876 when visiting Edwin Abbey. Jones and his brother, H. Bolton Jones, a painter of landscapes, then worked at Pont-Aven, Brittany in an artists' colony attended by Robert Wylie and Thomas Hovenden. Pont-Aven would soon become famous for Paul Gauguin painting there. Jones, in the autumn of 1877, went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He studied with Henri Lehmann, traveling and sketching in France, Switzerland and Italy during the next five years. The artist was in London working on a panorama of military subjects in the winter of 1879-1880. He continued his studies in France under the well-known academicians Jules Joseph Lefebvre and William Adolphe Bouguereau. Reflecting his teachers and his artistic education, Jones painted in an academically detailed style that was also rich in paint handling. Although a genre painter of contemporary life, Jones had a special feeling for richly furnished interiors and costumes. He later adopted Impressionism. The Berkshire Mountains of South Egremont, Massachusetts were a subject he pursued during the summer. He taught at the National Academy of Design in New York City. Jones illustrated views of historic houses in Washington, D.C., which appeared in Scribner's Magazine in October, 1893. He was also a mural painter, commencing in 1895. He died in 1932. Francis Coates Jones held memberships in many arts organizations including American Federation of Artists, American Watercolor Society, Century Association, Lotos Club, National Academy of Design, National Arts Club, National Institute of Arts and Letters, National Society of Mural Painters, Salmagundi Club and Society of American Artists. His work may be found in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts.