Mervin Jules (1912–1994) was an American artist known for his silk screen prints.

Biography

Jules was born in 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland. He contracted polio as a child which damaged his legs. He used canes and braces for the rest of his life. He attended

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He then moved to New York City where he studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

. His teachers included Thomas Hart Benton. During the 1930s Jules was a member of the Silk Screen Unit of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Fine Arts Project. In 1940, he married fellow artist Rita Albers (1914 - 1974), with whom he had three children. Mervin Jules - WPA Art Class 1945

In 1945 he served as artist-in-residence at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

for a year. He then when on to teach at Smith until 1970 where he served for a time as head of the art department. From 1970 until 1980 he served as chairman of the art department of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

(CCNY) Jules' work was included in 1944 Dallas Museum of Art exhibition of the National Serigraph Society. Jules died on July 29, 1994 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Jules' work is in the collections of the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Harvard Art Museums, the Museum of Modern Art, the Phillips Collection, the

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...

, the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

, the Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jules, Mervin 1912 births 1994 deaths Artists from Baltimore American male artists