Mockorange, (Philadelphus), is a shrub with a citrus scent and has white blossoms that bloom in the late spring to early summer. A portion of this painting can be seen in the upper left corner of the photo herein— Jones in her living room/studio.
Ida Ella Jones, the daughter of a former slave, had ten children and at the age of seventy-two began painting. Self-taught, her work focuses on local (Chester County, PA) landscapes, still-lifes and Biblical stories. The Chester County Historical Society held a retrospective exhibit in 1995 and Jones was recently included in “We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s," 2015.
Literature: Starting Anew After Seventy: The Story of Ida Ella Jones, Primitive Artist, by Ida J. Williams, 1980.
To Everything a Season: The Art and Life of Ida Jones, by Beverly Sheppard and Roberta Townsend, 1995.