Barbara Mildred Jones, 1912-1978

Barbara Jones was a designer, writer, painter and illustrator. She studied mural decoration at the Royal College of Art from 1933-1937, where she became associated with a circle of British artists and illustrators which included Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, Edward Ardizzone and John Piper. During the Second World War she was among the few women employed by the 'Recording Britain' scheme, painting Britain's natural and architectural heritage.

Jones was commissioned to make murals for the exhibition 'Britain Can Make It' (1946) and the Festival of Britain (1951), and, through the influence of James Gardner, the new Commonwealth Institute building in London in 1962. She also created murals for a number of hotels, restaurants, exhibitions and schools, as well as a series of major works for P&O liners between 1948 and 1960.

As a graphic designer, writer and broadcaster, Jones championed the popular arts. Her exhibition 'Black Eyes and Lemonade', held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1951, and her book 'The Unsophisticated Arts' of the same year remain landmarks in the appreciation of vernacular English culture and the popular arts. They are part of a large body of book work, some of which she wrote, while others bore her illustrations or jacket designs.

Barbara Jones lived in Hampstead, and died in 1978, aged 66.

From the guide to the Barbara Jones Archive, 1950-1951, (University of Brighton Design Archives)