Jess Eugene DuBois (July 6, 1934 – December 28, 2022) was an American artist.

Biography

DuBois was born on July 6, 1934, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He graduated from the inaugural class of

The Art Institute of Colorado The Art Institute of Colorado was a for-profit art and culinary school in Denver, Colorado. It briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit ar ...

in 1957. DuBois then traveled the country to study with several established artists including Ray Vanilla, David Lafel, and Daniel Greene. As a Creole of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

ancestry, Dubois was passionate about

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

art. He showcased it in his successful DuBois Gallery in

Estes Park, Colorado Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...

until he was forced to close following the town's devastating 1982

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

. He subsequently returned to his native Five Points neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, where he cultivated the arts of

glassblowing Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a Blowpipe (tool), blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer'' ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, combining those skills with his existing media. DuBois received The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1988 Denver Black Arts Festival, where he was lauded for his ability to "Project the soul of his subjects onto canvas.” The Denver-area

Regional Transportation District The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...

commissioned him to cast a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statue of Denver's first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

doctor,

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

Dr.

Justina Ford Justina Laurena Ford (January 22, 1871 – October 14, 1952) was an American physician. She was the first licensed African American female doctor in Denver, Colorado, and practiced gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics from her home for half a ...

, which was dedicated in 1998. It can be viewed at the 30th & Downing Light Rail Station in Denver. DuBois was one of three artists who received the Denver Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts in 2004. He was inducted into the

Art Institute of Colorado The Art Institute of Colorado was a for-profit art and culinary school in Denver, Colorado. It briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit ar ...

Hall of Fame that same year. He was also recognized by the City and County of Denver as
Five Points Jazz Festival honoree in 2019
DuBois taught children's art in a number of local settings, continued to take art classes himself, and said his goal in life was “to get better and better.” DuBois died in December 28, 2022, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Art Institute Hall of Fame induction

Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts
*

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

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2019 Five Points Jazz Festival Honorees
1934 births 2022 deaths American glass artists People from Estes Park, Colorado Artists from Denver Five Points, Denver 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American sculptors American male sculptors 21st-century American painters American people of Cherokee descent Sculptors from Colorado 20th-century American male artists Burials at Fort Logan National Cemetery {{Glass-art-stub