Nan and Roy Farrington Jones Archive of Early California and Western Art
Finding aid created by Crocker Art Museum staff using RecordEXPRESS
Crocker Art Museum
2018
216 O Street
Sacramento, California 95814
(916) 808-7000
https://www.crockerart.org/
Title: Nan and Roy Farrington Jones Archive of Early California and Western Art
Dates: ca. 1960-2000
Collection Number: 001.CRART.CAU
Creator/Collector:
Farrington Jones, Nan and Roy
Extent: Approximately 40 linear feet comprised of slides, DVDs, index cards, correspondence, program notes, and periodicals in 125
boxes/cartons.
Repository:
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: Reported to be the largest collection of color slides of early California art, the Nan and Roy Farrington Jones Archive of
Early California and Western Art is pertinent to the study of 19th to mid-20th-century artists. The archive contains over
30,000 slide images of paintings showcasing the work of more than 1200 artists. In addition, the archive contains the papers
of Nan and Roy Farrington Jones, including correspondence, artist documentation, and public program notes.
Language of Material: English
Access is limited to in-person consultation. Call 916-808-8856 or email library@crockerart.org for an appointment. Collection
items are for research purposes only. Researchers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of information contained within
the collection. Property rights to the physical object belong to the Crocker Art Museum. Due to potential copyright restrictions,
reproductions cannot be provided for materials in this collection.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her
heir for permission to publish.
Nan and Roy Farrington Jones Archive of Early California and Western Art. Crocker Art Museum
The collection was gifted by Nan and Roy Farrington Jones to the State Museum Resource Center of California State Parks in
2000 and transferred to the Crocker Art Museum in 2011.
Biography/Administrative History
Roy Farrington Jones was born February 28, 1925, in Marin County, CA. He married Nancy Hoffman in 1951. Nancy or Nan, was
born on July 24, 1920, in Chicago, IL, and moved to California in 1947. Roy and Nan had two daughters together: Catherine
Hogan and Pamela Barrie. Roy was a Marin real-estate appraiser for 52 years and was one of the founding directors of what
is now Marin Association of Realtors. Roy was also the mayor of Ross. Other positions he held during his political career
include Chairman of Marin County’s Assessment Appeals Board (for 37 years until August of 2015), member of Ross Town Council
(1962-1978), and member of the County Local Agency Formation Commission for over ten years. Nan had her own photography business
for many years. She was also active in the Northgate Group of the Marin Art and Garden Center, as a Girl Scout Leader, Parent-Teachers
Association board member and Sunny Hills Auxiliary member. The couple combined their passions for art collecting and photography
by photographing works of early western paintings in museums, galleries, and private collections (with permission) throughout
California over a period of 30 years. They carefully indexed and organized the resulting collection of 30,000 plus slides.
They also gave slide presentations at schools and to other groups. The collection was donated in 2000 to the State Museum
Resource Center of California State Parks, located in West Sacramento, CA, and transferred in 2011 to the Crocker Art Museum.
Nan died July 2, 2001, in Marin County aged 80. Roy is retired in Ross.
Scope and Content of Collection
The materials in the Nan and Roy Farrington Jones Archive span approximately 1960 to 2000, with the bulk of the collection
from the 1970s and 1980s. More than 1200 artists are represented from the Mission Period through the 1940s including prominent
artists such as Ansel Adams, Albert Bierstadt, William Alexander Coulter, Henry Percy Gray, Christian Jorgensen, William Keith,
John Muir, Norman Rockwell, Thaddeus Welch, and Raymond Dabb Yelland. As well as the extensive slide collection, the archive
includes business correspondence with museums, galleries (including the Crocker Art Museum, formerly the E.B. Crocker Art
Gallery), historical societies, colleges, libraries, and other individuals across the United States, predominantly in California
and the western states, and abroad. Contact the librarian for a full list of correspondents. The collection includes research
materials on the artists such as exhibition catalogs and newspaper articles. The documentation focuses on western and south-western
artists, both historic and contemporary, with an emphasis on artists active in California. There are some original photographic
materials such as photographic prints and negatives of art work, and portraits of artists and family members.
There are four series organized by type of material: Series 1 is for photographs and slides, series 2 covers the index cards,
series 3 is made up of papers, and series 4 contains periodicals. Series 1: Images of Paintings is divided into three subseries:
DVDs, Negatives and Prints, and Slides. Series 3 is divided into four subseries: Slideshow Research, Professional Correspondence,
Artist Research, and Rolodexes. Series 4: Publications and Printed Materials is divided into two subseries: Auction Catalogs,
and Periodicals.
Art—Collectors and Collecting—United States—Marin County (Calif.)
Art, Visual
Western Art
Pioneers
Painters
Landscapes
Farrington Jones, Nan, 1920-2001
Farrington Jones, Roy, 1925-
California, Northern
California, Southern
United States, Western
Slides (Photography)
Correspondence
Indexes, Card
Periodicals