Jeff Jones (artist)
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Catherine Jones (born Jeffrey Durwood Jones, January 10, 1944 – May 19, 2011) was an American artist whose work is best known from the late 1960s through 2000s. Jones provided over 150 covers for many different types of books through 1976, as well as venturing into fine art during and after this time. World renowned illustration artist Frank Frazetta
called Jones "the greatest living painter". Although Jones first achieved fame as simply Jeff Jones and lived for a time as male, she later changed her name and was legally recognized as female.
(later Louise Simonson). The two began dating and were married in 1966. Their daughter Julianna was born the following year. After graduation, the couple moved to New York City
but split up in the early 1970s.
paperback editions of Fritz Leiber
's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
series and Andre Norton
's Postmarked the Stars, The Zero Stone, Uncharted Stars and many others. For a period during the early 1970s she also contributed illustrations to Ted White
's Fantastic
.
Jones was nominated for the Hugo Award
for best fan artist in 1967, and for the best professional artist Hugo in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Jones was nominated for the World Fantasy Award
for best artist in 1975, and won the award in 1986. Jones was nominated for the Chesley Award in 1999.
CD publication Otherness, curated by David Cotner in 2007.) From 1975 to 1979 she shared workspace in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, with Bernie Wrightson
, Barry Windsor-Smith
, and Michael William Kaluta
, collectively named The Studio; Dragon’s Dream produced a volume of their work in 1979. Industry journalist Tom Spurgeon
commented on the broader significance and influence of The Studio in his obituary of Jones at The Comics Reporter:
By the early 1980s she had a recurring strip in Heavy Metal
titled I'm Age. Cartoonists Walter Simonson
and J. D. King said at the time that Jones had a growing interest in expressionism
, and did not pursue comic work as closely thereafter.
. Comics writer and journalist Steven Ringgenberg elaborated on her transition in an obituary/tribute to Jones at The Comics Journal
:
Similarly, in a tribute in Locus
, editor Arnie Fenner described the results of Jones' transition:
She was survived by her daughter.
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
called Jones "the greatest living painter". Although Jones first achieved fame as simply Jeff Jones and lived for a time as male, she later changed her name and was legally recognized as female.
Early life
In 1964 while attending Georgia State College, Jones met fellow student Mary Louise AlexanderLouise Simonson
Louise Simonson, born Mary Louise Alexander , is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel...
(later Louise Simonson). The two began dating and were married in 1966. Their daughter Julianna was born the following year. After graduation, the couple moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
but split up in the early 1970s.
Career
Jones painted covers for books, including the AceAce Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
paperback editions of Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by Fritz Leiber . They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories....
series and Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
's Postmarked the Stars, The Zero Stone, Uncharted Stars and many others. For a period during the early 1970s she also contributed illustrations to Ted White
Ted White (author)
Ted White is a Hugo Award-winning American writer, known as a science fiction author and editor and fan, as well as a music critic...
's Fantastic
Fantastic (magazine)
Fantastic was an American digest-size fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1952 to 1980. It was founded by Ziff-Davis as a fantasy companion to Amazing Stories. Early sales were good, and Ziff-Davis quickly decided to switch Amazing from pulp format to digest, and to cease...
.
Jones was nominated for the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for best fan artist in 1967, and for the best professional artist Hugo in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Jones was nominated for the World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
for best artist in 1975, and won the award in 1986. Jones was nominated for the Chesley Award in 1999.
The Studio
In 1972-75 issues of National Lampoon Jones had a full page strip entitled Idyl. (A strip by Jones, taken from Idyl, was used to illustrate the Sonic Arts NetworkSonic Arts Network
Sonic Arts Network was a UK-based organisation, established in 1979, that aimed to enable both audiences and practitioners to engage with the art of sound through a programme of festivals, events, commissions and education projects...
CD publication Otherness, curated by David Cotner in 2007.) From 1975 to 1979 she shared workspace in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, with Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
, Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
, and Michael William Kaluta
Michael William Kaluta
Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta , is an American comic book artist and writer.-Early life:Born in Guatemala to U.S...
, collectively named The Studio; Dragon’s Dream produced a volume of their work in 1979. Industry journalist Tom Spurgeon
Tom Spurgeon
Tom Spurgeon is an American writer, historian and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of The Comics Journal and his blog The Comics Reporter, which he launched in 2004 with site designer Jordan Raphael.-Books:...
commented on the broader significance and influence of The Studio in his obituary of Jones at The Comics Reporter:
- The legacy of that much talent doing what was collectively very good work at a point of almost monolithic and degrading corporate influence over the kind of art they wanted to do has provided The Studio with a legacy that can be embraced even by those that didn't particularly care for the artists' output. The idea of a dedicated workplace that would allow for coercive influence one artist to another has been carried over into very nearly ever cartoonists' collective space initiative since.
By the early 1980s she had a recurring strip in Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
titled I'm Age. Cartoonists Walter Simonson
Walt Simonson
Walter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...
and J. D. King said at the time that Jones had a growing interest in expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, and did not pursue comic work as closely thereafter.
Gender transition
As an adult, Jones recalled wanting to be a girl from her earliest memories. She confronted these issues in 1998 and began hormone replacement therapyHormone replacement therapy (male-to-female)
Hormone replacement therapy for transgender and transsexual people changes the balance of sex hormones in their bodies. Some intersex people also receive HRT, either starting in childhood to confirm the sex to which they were assigned, or later, if this assignment has proven to be incorrect...
. Comics writer and journalist Steven Ringgenberg elaborated on her transition in an obituary/tribute to Jones at The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
:
It's now known from the artist’s personal writings that he had felt conflicted about his gender since childhood, always feeling a greater affinity for the fair sex than for his own maleness. Having grown up as a product of the patriarchal 1950s, with a domineering war-hero father, Jones did not know how to cope with his yearning to be female, and felt ashamed. For years he tried to drown these feelings in alcohol, but, after much soul-searching, Jones realized that although he’d been born male, inside he was a woman. He began hormone replacement therapy in 1998, and set out upon a new phase of life as a woman, changing his name to Jeffrey Catherine Jones. Yet even this transition did not bring peace to this gentle, troubled artist, for in 2001, she suffered a nervous breakdown, which led to the loss of her home and studio. However, she eventually recovered, and by 2004 began painting and drawing again.
Similarly, in a tribute in Locus
Locus (magazine)
Locus, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field", is published monthly in Oakland, California. It reports on the science fiction and fantasy publishing field, including comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade...
, editor Arnie Fenner described the results of Jones' transition:
Though he lived the rest of his days as a transgendered person he told me candidly in 2006, "It was a mistake. I still think like a man and desire women like a man does. I thought it would make me less depressed and I was wrong. I drove down a dead end road and now I can't back up or turn around; the only thing I can do at this point is accept things as they are. And I think I have. Besides, what other choice do I have?"
Death
Jones' personal Facebook page reported following her death: "Legendary fantasy artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones passed away today, Thursday May 19, 2011 at 4:00 am surrounded by family. Jeffrey suffered from severe emphysema and bronchitis as well as hardening of the arteries around the heart..."She was survived by her daughter.
External links
-
- Official site at Archive.org February 6, 2008
- Jones' autobiography
- Interview with Jones by Laurie J. Anderson, Sequential Tart, April 2004
- Woman in the Man, Jones tribute by Michael Netzer, May 20, 2011
- Jeffrey Catherine "Jeff" Jones (January 10, 1944 – May 19, 2011)