About Fay Jones

Fay Jones paints provocative and playful images using an eclectic and rich vocabulary filled with various characters. Her imaginative paintings are dreamlike and their subject matter alludes to unpredictable and comical narratives.

Biography

Fay Jones was born Fay Baily in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1936. She went to the Rhode Island School of Design where she met fellow artist Robert Jones, her future husband; she received her BFA in 1957. In 1960, the two moved to Seattle, where Robert Jones began teaching at the University of Washington.

Fay Jones was primarily a homemaker in those years, but she managed to set aside time to pursue her art. While raising four kids, Jones built a successful career, often painting big canvases in her living room.

Jones had her debut exhibition in 1970 in Seattle at the Francine Seders Gallery. Her reputation as an artist started growing. In the 1980s, Jones was selected to design murals for the Downtown Seattle Tunnel at Westlake Station, along with Gene Gentry McMahon and Roger Shimomura. Jones’ artwork has also been featured in over 100 group and solo exhibitions.

A retrospective was organized in 1996 by the Boise Art Museum. Her work is in the collections of the Tacoma Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, and the Whatcom Museum.

Jones’ nephew Richard Garfield created the fantasy card trading game Magic: the Gathering. Fay Jones was one of the first original 25 artists who illustrated cards for the game when it was released in 1993.

Jones has received a number of awards, including from La Napoli Art Foundation in 1989, the Washington State Arts Commission in 1984, the 2006 Poncho Artist of the Year award from the Seattle Art Museum, and the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2013.

Objects

Jones works extensively on paper with watercolor, sumi ink, and acrylics. She also often includes collaged materials in her paintings. Her paintings often include playful narrative compositions with stylized symbols, figures, and landscapes. Typical Jones images include Buddha-like babies, donkeys, sailors, veils, twins or doubles, uniquely dressed women, and evocative flowers.

Jones’ artwork is often humorous. She has described her work as fiction that is set in the present.

Market

There is a high and steady demand for Jones’ work in today’s market. Jones’ paintings sell for up to several thousand dollars on the market. Her work is appreciated not only in the Pacific Northwest but across the globe. Jones’ prints and paintings are found in museum collections, and have appeared on book and magazine covers, wine labels, and jewelry.

Appraise and Sell Fay Jones’ Work

If you have any object of Fay Jones’, including her paintings or Magic: The Gathering cards, get in touchwith our experts at Revere Auctions. If you would like to sell your Fay Jones’ works, you can auction them at our location in St. Paul, Minnesota. We also offer our services online.

You can contact us anytime for a free auction estimate if you want to sell Jones’ artwork. We have a very simple process. After you send us the photos of the work, our experts will take a look, analyze, and provide you an estimate of the amount the artwork is likely to reach at auction.

If you need an appraisal for Jones’ work, we provide a certified appraisal report that can be used for estate taxes, donations, and insurance coverage. Our appraisals are compliant with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and are accepted by insurance companies, charity agencies, and the IRS.