Ida Ella Ruth Jones (1874-1959)
East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
African American self-taught artist who depicted life in rural Chester County in the first half of the 20th century. The daughter of a former slave, Jones completed more than 300 works in her 70s and 80s. She worked in watercolor, oil, and pencil in a style typical of folk art. Her works illustrated personal observations of family and farm life, nature, landscapes, early technologies, human interaction, and slavery. Jones resided on a nearby farm.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Ida Ella Ruth Jones, the daughter of a formerly enslaved man, took up her brushes late in life and produced more than 300 works in her seventies and eighties. Working in watercolor, oil, and pencil in a plain folk-art style, she painted the rural Chester County she knew—family and farm life, landscapes, early machines, and memories of slavery. She lived out her long life on a nearby farm.
Why it matters
Jones preserved an African American view of rural Pennsylvania life that formal history rarely recorded, proving that a self-taught artist's memory can be a primary source in its own right.
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Related people
- · Ida Ella Ruth Jones
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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