Renowned Art Collector, Birmingham Native Paul R. Jones to Speak at UA Commencement Aug. 12

TUSCALOOSA, Ala – Renowned art collector and civil rights activist Paul R. Jones will be the featured speaker for The University of Alabama’s summer commencement ceremonies Saturday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. in Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus.

A native of Bessemer, now residing in Atlanta, Jones has amassed one of the world’s largest private collections of African-American art. The collection of more than 1,500 pieces includes sculptures, paintings and photographs by African-American artists such as Charles White, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Selma Burke, David Driskell and Herman “Kofi” Bailey.

Jones, who donated much of his collection to the University of Delaware, said that he gained an affinity for the beauty of art from his parents while growing up in Bessemer. He began collecting works by African-American artists in the early 1960s with three prints he bought on a street corner and framed himself.

During the civil rights movement, he weathered controversy by hosting black and white leaders from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in his Birmingham restaurant, Paul’s.

He later gained national recognition for his work with the Model Cities Program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also served as a deputy director of the Peace Corps in Thailand.

He has received numerous awards including being recognized by Art and Antiques magazine as one of the top 100 collectors in the United States, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Outstanding Community Service Award, three Meritorious Awards from the Southern Conference of Black Mayors, the James VanDerZee Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, and an honorary degree from the University of Delaware.