James Jones

James Jones was an American artist or draftsman whose active period spanned from 1912 to 1935. Jones’s documented output focuses primarily on architectural and historical rendering, demonstrating a precision characteristic of documentary illustration projects of the era.

Jones is represented by fifteen documented works identified as part of the Index of American Design, a project dedicated to cataloging historical American decorative arts and architecture. This collection highlights Jones’s focused documentation of significant California religious architecture. Specific examples preserved in collections include renderings of Mision Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles, Mision San Carlos de Monterey, Mision San Antonio de Padua, and Mision San Diego de Alcala.

The historical and documentary value of these images ensures their continued preservation. Several James Jones prints are held in prestigious institutional collections, including the National Gallery of Art. Because of their provenance and designation within government-documented archives, these museum-quality works are often considered part of the public domain, making high-quality prints and downloadable artwork available for academic research and study.