Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998) was a prominent African-American artist in the mid- to late-twentieth century. In addition to teaching at Howard University for several decades, Jones became the first African American to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. As her biographer Tritobia Haves Benjamin told Beth Baker of Ebony, "She is a reflection of the varied facets that represent American art. Just as American art has unfolded, embracing different styles and different cultures, so too has Jones' career."

Jones was born November 3, 1905, in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Thomas Vreeland and Carolyn Dorinda (nee Adams) Jones. Her father worked as the superintendent of an office building, in which the family lived when Jones was a child. This proved to be a weird, isolated existence. Jones often played on the roof of the building. At night, Thomas Jones attended Suffolk Law...