Garnet Jex

Garnet Wolesey Jex (October 19, 1895[1] – September 21, 1979[1][2]) was an American artist and historian. Born in Kent, Ohio, he moved with his family to Washington, D.C., at the age of four.[3] He remained in the Washington area until his death.[4]

Garnet Wolesey Jex
Born(1895-10-19)October 19, 1895
Kent, Ohio
DiedSeptember 27, 1979(1979-09-27) (aged 83)
Washington, DC
NationalityAmerican
EducationCorcoran College of Art and Design, George Washington University
Known forMedical illustration, watercolor painting
StyleRepresentational painting
Portrait of Arthur "Dutch" Bergman
Portrait of Olive Thorne Miller, collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Jex enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War I. After the war, he worked as a medical illustrator for the Army Medical Corps for two years[1] and attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design. He earned a BA in 1927 and a Master's degree in 1931, both from George Washington University. While completing his master's degree, he worked as an art editor for the journal Nature. Later, Jex was employed as the Director of Graphics for the U.S. Bureau of State Services, and worked as an artist and designer at the United States Public Health Service for 26 years, until his retirement in 1962.[2][5]

In 1965, Jex authored a history book of the American Civil War entitled The Upper Potomac in the Civil War, based on a series of 51 watercolor paintings.[6] Jex also known for his paintings of dinosaurs and other Permian Age animals including those created for dioramas at the Dallas Exposition on behalf of the United States Texas Centennial Commission, and at the National Museum of Natural History for which he painted a 15 foot long mural.[7][8]

Jex was highly renowned for his landscape paintings of the Potomac River and the C & O Canal. Although a flood destroyed the canal in 1924,[9] Jex's works remain as a visual record of the once commercially important structure.[10] While many of Jex’s works are held in private collections, others can be found on public display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum[11] and at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.[12]

Collections

References
  1. Grace Rodriguez (May 1998). "Finding Aid for the Garnet W. Jex Medical Illustration Collection". National Museum of Health and Medicine. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  2. "Garnet Jex, Civil War Fan, Artist for Public Health Unit". The Washington Post. September 27, 1979. p. Metro B6. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020.
  3. "'Views of Harpers Ferry' on display". Public Opinion. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. November 26, 2009. p. 44. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. Schelle, Crystal (September 9, 2012). "Council host exhibit on Civil war artwork". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  5. "Corcoran Artist Files". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. "Sharpsburg Historical Society Presents Garnet W. Jex Exhibit". InThePanhandle.com. August 18, 2012. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  7. Report on the Progress and Condition of the U.S. National Museum for the Year Ending June 30. United States National Museum, US Government Printing Office. 1937. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  8. "Permo-Triassic Synapsids at NMNH". Extinct Monsters. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  9. Capace, Nancy (1999). Encyclopedia of Maryland. St. Clair Shores, Michigan: Somerset Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 9780403098224.
  10. "C. & O. Canal 'Lives' Again in Paintings". The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland. November 1, 1968. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  11. "Garnet Jex". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  12. "Ribbon Cutting for Garnet Jex Paintings Exhibit". National Park Service. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  13. "Collection Images: Garnet Jex". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  14. "Collection: Garnet Jex". National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. April 25, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  15. "Garnet Wolesey Jex". Historical Society of Washington DC. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  16. "Garnet W. Jex Medical Illustration Collection Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  17. "Collections". MSV (Museum of the Shenendoah Valley). January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.