U.S. Grant Tayes

{{Infobox person

| name = U.S. Grant Tayes

| other_names = Ulysses S. Grant Tayes,
Ulysses Tayes

| birth_date = October 26, 1885

| birth_place = Warrensburg, Missouri, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1972|06|15|1885|10|26}}

| death_place = Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.

| burial_place = Longview Cemetery, Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.

| education = Lincoln University

| occupation = Visual artist, barber, musician, writer, educator

| years_active = 1929–1950

| known_for = Painting, watercolor

| spouse = Mary Aline Lane,
Laura Alice Jackson,
Lillian Lee

| children = 1

}}

U.S. Grant Tayes (October 26, 1885—June 15, 1972), was an American painter and watercolorist, active in Missouri from the 1930s through 1950s.{{Cite web |last=Knuteson |first=John |date=2021 |title=U.S. Grant Tayes |url=https://missouriartists.org/person/morem126/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222020656/https://missouriartists.org/person/morem126/ |archive-date=2024-02-22 |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Missouri Remembers |publisher=The Kansas City Art Institute, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The St. Louis Public Library |place=St. Louis, MO |language=en}} His artwork was centered around documenting his Black community in Missouri. He was a self-taught visual artist, who benefited from professional mentorship in his later life. Tayes also worked as a teacher, a barber, and a columnist. Other names used include Ulysses S. Grant Tayes, Ulysses Grant Tayes, and Ulysses Tayes.

Early life and education

U.S. Grant Tayes was born on October 26, 1885, in Warrensburg, Missouri into an African American family.{{Cite news |date=1937-04-09 |title=Paintings by U.S. Grant Tayes, Former Porter, Wins Recognition |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-star-journal-paintings-by-us-gra/141813670/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=Daily Star-Journal |pages=1 |via=Newspapers.com}} He found inspiration during his childhood in Warrensburg where he saw local painters at work, including George Probst and Walter Hout.

He attended the HBU Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri and received a B.S. degree (1936) in education. He married three times, to Mary Aline Lane, Laura Alice Jackson, and Lillian Lee; and had one daughter.

Career

From 1929 until 1935, Tayes lived in St. Louis. The “Tayes Art Museum” was the informal name of his in St. Louis barbershop at 122 North Third Street; he would display his artwork there.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vbEQAQAAIAAJ&q=%22U.S.+Grant+Tayes%22 |title=Negro Artists: An Illustrated Review of Their Achievements |date=1935 |publisher=Harmon Foundation Incorporated |others=Harmon Foundation |pages=57 |language=en}} He was a member of the St. Louis Society of Independent Artists. Tayes was also a musician and performed on the local St. Louis radio station in the 1930s; and was a columnist and wrote for the St. Louis Argus in the 1930s. While living in St. Louis, he was mentored by artists Frederick C. Alston and Edmund H. Wuerpel.

He moved to Jefferson City, Missouri in 1935, and remained there until 1950. Tayes worked as a barber out of his home at 528 Lafayette Street in Jefferson City; in an African American neighborhood's commercial district (during racial segregation) called "The Foot".{{Cite book |last=Brooks |first=Michelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tShaEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 |title=Lost Jefferson City |date=February 2022 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4671-5035-4 |pages=58 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Lauren |date=2015-05-31 |title=Archaeological pieces of African-American neighborhood unearthed |url=https://www.newstribune.com/news/2015/may/31/archaeological-pieces-african-american-neighborhoo/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Jefferson City News-Tribune |language=en}} His neighborhood "The Foot" was often the subject of his artwork, with works such as the Barber Shop (1947), and the Bar Scene. His neighbor was noted businessman, Duke Diggs. "The Foot" neighborhood of Jefferson City no longer exists, but it was unearthed during the Lafayette Street interchange construction in 2015.

Tayes died on June 15, 1972, in Jefferson City.

Exhibitions

1929, "Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists" group exhibition by the Urban League of St. Louis, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri
1930, "Exhibit of Fine Arts by American Negro Artists" group exhibition by Harmon Foundation
1932, "St. Louis Post-Dispatch Black and White Exhibition" by St. Louis Artists' Guild, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri
1933, "1933 Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists", group exhibition by Harmon Foundation at the Art Centre, New York City, New York{{Cite book |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/857075 |title=Exhibition of Work by Negro Artists |publisher=Harmon Foundation |year=1933 |location=New York City, New York |via=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}
1933, "5th Annual Art Exhibition for Negro Artists", group exhibition, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri; first prize winner{{Cite news |date=1933-06-30 |title=Prize Winners In Art Exhibition Announced |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-globe-democrat/44170590/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=St. Louis Globe-Democrat |pages=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}
1939, "15th Annual Art Exhibition of Negro Artists in Oil and Water Colors", group exhibition, St. Louis Urban Art League, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=Helen S. |date=1939-12-08 |title=Here And There |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-louis-argus-here-and-there/141814351/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=The St. Louis Argus |pages=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=1939-12-03 |title=Urban League Sponsors Oil and Water Color Exhibit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch/44125889/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |pages=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}
1944, "Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists", group exhibition by Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), Atlanta, Georgia
1945, "Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists", group exhibition by Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), Atlanta, Georgia
2019, "Selections from the Melvin Holmes Collection of African American Art Exhibition", group exhibition by the Melvin Holmes Collection of African American Art, Tyler Fine Art

U.S. Grant Tayes

Early life and education

Career

Exhibitions

References

Further reading