I wrote about the evolution of the process of the painting here in a previous blog post.
Carroll was a warm soul with a reflective aura about him. To me, as a young man, he was a treasure trove of wisdom and I was lucky to have gotten his permission to film him while he painted the stages of Governor Dean's portrait. His renaissance style and tradition of painting a canvass as real as possible was an incredible art to behold. He taught many students and was a legend in the profession.
The window he opened up for me to Governor Dean's vision was the beginning of my documentation of an incredible important part of American History, IMHO.
Critics of Dean will charge egomania, though Carroll and I knew that the man wanted to share the beauty of Vermont with the public and the important notion that we need to keep our land and water clean and conserved for the people despite the pressures of industry and polluters.
A little inside secret: Governor Dean's smile took a lot more work than originally planned. We all know it is not hard or abnormal to find Dean smiling but, what you don't know is that a big reason it was important for him was because most of the previous portraits of governor's in the statehouse were full of old guys dressed in black frock coats frowning in self-absorbed seriousness.
Governor Dean worked with the talented Mr. Jones to change and preserve a different type of legacy. A legacy that would go on to open the hearts of average citizens to the idea that they needed to take personal responsibility towards the ownership of their democracy.
Thank you Carroll N. Jones, Jr. for being the first person to help Governor Dean develop his vision for changing this country by engaging its citizenry without cynicism.
Carroll was predeceased by his long-time friend and agent Lillian Zuber a week before his death. She can be seen in the picture above standing beside him. Lillian was also instrumental in opening up the vision of the painting to the filmmaker.
Carroll's Obit from the Stowe Reporter:
Carroll Nathaniel Jones Jr.
*
Published:
Thursday, July 9, 2009 12:10 PM EDT
Carroll Nathaniel Jones Jr., a noted artist who lived in Stowe, died of kidney failure on June 29, 2009.
He was born Jan. 9, 1917, in Hartford, Conn., and graduated from William Hall High School in 1935 and from Yale University in 1941.
Carroll was a captain in the U.S. Army and became the medical artist at Tourney General Hospital in California. Carroll was then called to Walter Reed Hospital to illustrate Dr. Donald Slocum’s “Atlas of Amputations.”
Carroll went on to become an illustrator for Life Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest, and Old Crow whiskey ads.
While working for Life Magazine, he became involved with a series on the Epic of Man, the Gay Old Days, and the Russian Revolution.
While living in New Jersey, he taught art lessons at night. His later years were spent in Stowe. He did many portraits throughout his career. He loved to paint landscapes, some with animals, some without, and a red barn here and there.
He loved golf and picking blueberries and mowing the Zubers’ lawn in Stowe.
Survivors include a daughter, Jocelyn Jones; a son, Carroll Nathaniel Jones III; a sister, Jacqueline Duplissa; three nephews, David Duplissa, Steve Jones and Tom Jones; two nieces, Jacquelyn Guidetti and Kathy Faller; a cousin, Leif Carlson; and a goddaughter, Alicia Zuber.
His wife, Lucy Pech Burnes, died in the early 1990s.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, Aug. 30, at 11 a.m. on the Zubers’ lawn in Stowe.
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