Stella Jones Gallery records

1982-2010

The records of the Stella Jones Gallery consist of correspondence, artists’ resumes and curriculum vita, photographs of artists’ work, and ephemera. Some correspondence various artists’ promotional and sales materials, as well as a collection of various artists’ works on CDs. The records also contain correspondence regarding the Josephine Baker Story (1990), a letter from a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and a letter from the New Orleans Arts Council thanking the gallery for a donation.

Materials also include gallery representation requests, invitations to art conferences, exhibitions, shows, receptions, special events, lectures, auctions, workshops and award luncheons. Other documents include a 2006 exhibition program from the South Dallas Cultural Center honoring the gallery. The records also include invitations to several artist receptions held at the Stella Jones Gallery include those of Ike Spears, James Denmark, Samella Lewis, Gerry Mitchell, and Gale Fulton-Ross.

As an active participant in various arts festivals, the Stella Jones Gallery is noted in several programs which are included in this collection, including the 1999 National Black Fine Art Show as an advertiser, the 2000 National Black Fine Art Show as an exhibitor, and the 2008 National Black Fine Arts Festival as an exhibitor. Also present are various gallery calendars, art catalogs, an art exhibition guide, artist and gallery sales materials, museum and gallery event schedules, as well as a CD of artwork by Daren Chambers and Steve Mayo. a Texas Southern Museum exhibition invitation featuring the works from the Stella Jones Gallery, and information of a planned Brazilian touring trip.

There are also a wide selection of exhibition brochures, invitations, announcements, and programs. The invitation of the Charley Palmer exhibition is from the Stella Jones Gallery dated June 1-July 17, 2009. Also present are gala and festival programs, as well as magazines dating from 2003-2009. There is a featured article on Stella Jones and her gallery in the 2006 May/June issue of the Homes of Color magazine. Also included is a collection of videotapes from the gallery’s year 2000 exhibits. There is also biographical information for various African American artists, slides, programs, publications, and "Windows of the Soul: Conversations with the Artist." The video series "Windows of the Soul: Conversations with the Artists" is in VHS videotape format. Artists interviewed in the series include Margaret Burroughs, Antonio Carreno, Elizabeth Catlett, Ernest Crichlon, David Driskell, Charles Hollingsworth, Wosene Warke Kosrof, and Samella Lewis.

Personal materials unrelated to the gallery records include correspondence, collected publications, memorabilia, programs, and minutes from Dr. Stella Jones' participation in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, The Links Inc., The GNO Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Jack and Jill of America. Other personal materials include a Links luncheon program, New Orleans Hornets basketball tickets, a playbill for an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance, a church program, high school and graduation invitations, greeting cards, and a Dooky Chase Restaurant menu. This collection also contains a 1996 Tulane Law School graduation program, religious conference information, and educational literature. A few items of election campaign ephemera for Dr. Ben Carson, 2015-2016 is contained within the papers, including a book by John Philip Sousa IV, Ben Carson: Rx for America (Tysons Corner, VA: Kaleidoscope Publishing, LTD), 2015.

Collected materials include items from the 1999 National Conference of Artists convention, announcements of exhibitions, programs, publications, announcements and subject files for difference types of art and art from various regions of the world, a 1989 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute publication, and a 2007 newsletter from SWANN galleries announcing their first ever African-American fine art auction. Other collected materials include museum schedules, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, and holiday cards and letters, as well as a 2009 art poster from an Elizabeth Catlett exhibition.

Lastly, the collection contains Louisiana Weekly, New York Times, and Times-Picayune newspaper clippings, a Salvadorian newspaper clipping about Hurricane Katrina. Various newspapers in the correspondence consist of New Orleans Tribunes, a San Diego Unionand a Clarion Herald. There are various magazines and clippings that highlight New Orleans and African-American statistical information, as well as the 1999 UNCF annual report.