Carroll N. Jones III

Carroll Nathaniel Jones III (July 2, 1944 – June 22, 2017) was an artist in the style of

Carroll Jones III was born on July 2, 1944, in

"Fortunately, at some point in my childhood, I began to gain an appreciation for the simpler belongings of life. I think now, a field trip to the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, when I was 16, helped crystallize all the things I held so dear to my heart; that is, today, the core of my artistic sensibilities. The play was Our Town, which takes place in the fictitious town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, a town not unlike the one where I spent so much of my early years. The fictional town, and West Swanzey, New Hampshire, the actual town, were both in the shadow of Mount Monadnock, an old gentle mountain that I have climbed many times. The soul of both towns, to me, is the essential spirituality behind all the images I have painted. It just can't help but be."^[12]

Carroll learned his disciplined approach to art from his father, Carroll N. Jones Jr. He taught young Carroll the ways of the masters from the 16th century Renaissance in theories of light, shade, perspective, color, and composition.

Carroll moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, to establish himself as an artist in 1977, and no longer drew portraits, moving from graphite drawings to concentrate on oil paintings.^[14] His first major show was among 121 New Jersey Artists at the Newark Museum and his work, Church Window, was singled out in an article from the New York Times in 1977.^[16] Within a year he held a solo show at the Newark Museum.^[17] By 1980, with over 300 pieces of work, Jones' work was represented in universities, galleries and collections in seven states, including the Forbes Collection.^[18] Coe Kerr Gallery of NYC represented him and his work, as well as American Realist Andrew Wyeth.^[19][20] He was a part of American Painters--Realists to Abstraction shows at Whistler's Daughter Art Gallery in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, in 1984.^[21] He received recognition with artists Norman Rockwell and Andrew Wyeth in Douglas Albert Gallery's show of The School of American Realism in 1987.^[22] Carroll began his gallery after moving to Jersey City in 1992. His studio has been there ever since.^[23][24][25]

As the artist has grown older, Jones seldom travels for his work. He no longer takes trips to Vermont to take pictures of old time storefronts that are quickly disappearing. He doesn't like to paint modern buildings, or the picturesque Manhattan skyline he can view across the Hudson. He likes to look at New York, but he doesn't want to paint it, as he told reporter Ray Smith of the Hudson Reporter.

Jones' father, grandfather, uncle, and great uncle on his father's side were artists.[4] Carroll names the contemporary realist painter Edward Hopper as one of his major influences because he had loved seeing the Hoboken storefronts riding the trains and buses home from school in NYC as a child. Hopper painted similar storefronts, and other common features of everyday life.^[10]

Art critic David L. Shirey of the New York Times noted Jones' first major work, Church Window at a juried art show at the Newark Museum "beautifully balanced composition of subtle dark and light tonalities."^[16]

"He tends to use a dark palette, defining by light instead of lines, and uses detail to draw the observer in. Not surprisingly, underlying each depiction of reality there appears to be a sense of Surrealism." wrote Amy Roestostovsky of the Daily Caller of Pennsylvania State University.^[22]

Marion Filler wrote the introduction to Jones' catalog, Jones III, published in 2013. She uses the words Magic realism, which refer to a style begun in America by Hopper in the 1920s.^[26][27]

"No matter the subject, the quality remains first rate.Jones did gorgeous things with graphite. The requisite realism that was so necessary for capturing a likeness was extended and developed into an ethereal, magic realism that focused on selective parts of an architectural composition.His drawing seems to carve objects out of light and dark, bringing them out of the whiteness of the page with startling authenticity then allowing them to mysteriously dissolve into the void."^[12]

Paul Froiland, editor of Midwest Art magazine, in his pictorial essay of Jones' work used the artist's own words to show his intentions, his desire to reach the common man:

"Years ago, a young black man who looked at his painting Another August said, “It looks just like a candy store I used to go to as a child in upper New York. I can feel the place, that's the exact same door that I walked through.” Jones notes, “And then I felt like I was a success. I felt that's who I want to reach, that's exactly what I am about.”^[28]

Notable clients and patrons

As a young artist,

Carroll Jones III died on June 22, 2017, at the age of 72 in Jersey City, New Jersey.[34]

Legacy

Praise for Carroll Jones III comes from former students who went on to have outstanding careers in

• 
  The Dream by Carroll Jones III --(1962)--age 18 years.
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  Waiting for Grandfather by Carroll Jones III (1967)
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  Portrait Of A Little Girl by Carroll Jones III (1968)--First commissioned portrait
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  Church Window by Carroll Jones III (1975) First major work post-portrait period.
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  Leaving Home by Carroll N. Jones III (1976)
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  Portrait Of Ann by Carroll Jones III (Late '70's, early '80's)
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  Summer's End (~1980)
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  Hoboken Still Life by Carroll Jones III (1983)
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  Another August by Carroll Jones III (1983)
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  Midsummer Sun by Carroll Jones III (1985)
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  Separate Skies by Carroll N. Jones III (1988)
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  Young Man With A Violin by Carroll Jones III *
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  American Scene by Carroll Jones III *
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  House By The Sea by Carroll Jones III *
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  McCaul's Florist (2004) By Carroll N. Jones III (2004)
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  Hopper Tribute by Carroll N. Jones III (2005)
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  The Tenderland by Carroll Jones III (2006)
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  Home by Carroll Jones III (2007)
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  The Water Bucket by Carroll Jones III (2012)
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  Winter by Carroll Jones III (2014)
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  Vermont Afternoon by Carroll N. Jones III (2014)
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  Ben Walker's Portrait by Carroll N. Jones III (2014)
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  October Shadows by Carroll Jones III (2015)
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  Bricks, Door and Cat by Carroll Jones III (2016)
• 
  Simple Gifts by Carroll Jones III *

• date unknown at this time.

References