Nell Choate Jones (Georgia/New York, 1879-1981), "Peille, France," oil on canvas landscape painting depicting a road winding through a village, set into the side of a steep mountain. Signed faintly lower right corner. Float mounted in a frame with narrow gilt metal edges. Entry card label en verso of painting for the National Association of Women Artists 59th Exhibition in New York City, 1951, held at the National Academy of Design. Additional labels for Marbella Gallery Special Exhibition 5/22-6/15/1979 and and Phillips Auction house, Manhattan. Canvas: 20 3/4" H x 22 3/4" W. Framed: 23" H x 25" W. Provenance: Estate of Carl Klein, Brentwood, TN. Biography: Born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, Nell Choate was only five years old when her father, who had served as a captain in the Confederate forces, died and her family relocated to Brooklyn. Following graduation from Adelphi Academy, she taught elementary school. Her career objectives changed in the 1920s, when her husband, the etcher and painter Eugene Arthur Jones, encouraged her to focus on art. Her impressionistic landscapes appeared in the Southern States Art League's 1925 exhibition in Atlanta and, two years later, at the Holt Gallery in New York City. Jones traveled to Paris in 1929, where she was awarded a scholarship to the Fontainebleau School of Art, located in the heart of the French countryside made famous by the Barbizon painters. In 1936, Jones returned to Georgia and found inspiration in the South; this subject matter triggered a shift in Jones' aesthetic. She began to make periodic trips to the South, where she created landscapes as well as genre scenes of regional traditions. Frequently, her paintings depict African Americans at labor and in moments of leisure. Jones served as president of the National Association of Women Artists and, simultaneously, as the first female president of the Brooklyn Society of Artists. In 1941, Jones initiated efforts to establish an art museum at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, to which she donated twelve paintings. As Jones neared her centennial birthday, she was named Woman of the Year by the National Association of Women Artists and was honored with a Distinguished Citizen Award from the Brooklyn Museum. (adapted from The Johnson Collection). Condition: UV light examination suggests some possible restoration to window/balcony area of the largest building, lower left quadrant, otherwise excellent condition.