Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (28 May 187830 July 1958) was an Australian businessman and patron of the arts, serving as Chairman of

David Jones Limited David Jones Pty Limited, trading as David Jones (colloquially DJs), is an Australian High-End department store, owned since 2014 by South African retail group Woolworths Holdings Limited. David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh ...

from 1920 to his death in 1958.

Early life and background

Jones was born in 1878 in

Burwood, New South Wales Burwood is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the Local government in Australia, local government area of Mun ...

, to

Edward Lloyd Jones Edward Lloyd Jones (23 April 1874 – 2 February 1934) was an Australian Shorthorn cattle breeder and chairman of David Jones Limited. David Jones was founded in Sydney in 1838 and is the world's oldest continuously operating department store st ...

and Helen Ann Jones, and was grandson to the Welsh-born merchant David Jones. After attending the Manor House School, London, and

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Municipali ...

Grammar School, Jones studied from 1895 at the

Julian Ashton Art School The Julian Ashton Art School was established by Julian Ashton in 1890 as the "Academy Julian", (perhaps a reference to the Académie Julian in Paris) has been an influential art school in Australia. For a long time it was known as the Sydney Art ...

in Sydney and then

the Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but ultimately was unable to fulfil his ambition of becoming a professional artist. He later trained as a tailor and worked in that profession for several years in England before returning to Australia in 1902. On 16 November 1900 when visiting Sydney he married his first wife, Winifred Ethelwyn Quaife, the daughter o
Barzillai Quaife
(1798-1873), a Congregational and Presbyterian minister, but they had no children.

Career and David Jones

After he returned to Sydney in 1902, Jones worked in the family company

, in the clothing factory before transferring to the advertising department. When David Jones Ltd became a listed as a public company in 1906, he was appointed as a director. In 1920 he succeeded his elder brother,

, as Chairman, a position he would hold until his death in 1958. During his term, David Jones expanded significantly, opening a second major store in Elizabeth Street in 1927 and later a third on the corner of Market and Castlereagh streets in 1938 to mark the centenary of the company. As both an artist himself and a patron of the arts in Sydney, Jones established the David Jones Art Gallery in the Elizabeth Street store in 1944, under the direction of Sir John Ashton. The Sir Charles Lloyd Jones Memorial Prize was named in his honour. A promoter of Sydney artists and in particular the work of

William Dobell Sir William Dobell (24 September 189913 May 1970) was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named ...

, Dobell painted Jones' portrait in 1951, which is now held in the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra. In a note to his sons regarding the family company he said: "David Jones is more than a material money-making concern, it is a great institution rendering a service to countless millions in the year, in fair dealing with the desire to serve all who enter its doors honestly, setting a new standard in commercial practice." He was also publisher of

Art in Australia ''Art in Australia'' was an Australian art magazine that was published between 1916 and 1942. Founding ''Art in Australia,'' was first issued in 1916. It was edited by Sydney Ure Smith, graphic artist and director of the advertising agency, ...

. He was the inaugural Chairman of the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

1932-34 and acting chairman of the

Australian National Travel Association The Australian National Travel Association (1929–2001) was a semi-government industry organisation which promoted tourism and travel in Australia. Establishment The Australian National Travel Association was formed in 1929 at the onset of the G ...

when in 1934 it launched ''

Walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...

'' magazine. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the 1951 New Year's Honours.

Notes

External links

* Silas Clifford-Smith, 'Charles Lloyd Jones (Sir)', Dictionary of Australian Artists Online

peer reviewed biography of his art career, 2009 * Shopkeepers and Shoppers, Frances Pollon published 1989 A social history of Retailing in New South Wales from 1788 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Charles Lloyd Chairpersons of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Australian art patrons Australian businesspeople in retailing Australian Knights Bachelor People from Sydney 1878 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Julian Ashton Art School alumni Australian male painters