Lot 661: Jewel Alma Woodard Simon (Texas/Georgia,

Jewel Alma Woodard Simon (Texas/Georgia, 1911-1996), "A Jungle Fancy: Child of the Imagination", c. 1930, oil on board, signed lower right, signed, titled and inscribed "My First Oil Painting" and Binder's label en verso, 12 in. x 16 in., framed.

Provenance : From the noted Southern Art collection of Steven Cabot Barnes Harvey (1949-1993). Note: This imaginative painting, which includes a snake, a deer, a cardinal, a monkey, a fox, and a turtle, was the first oil painting ever created by Jewel Simon, an African-American artist who studied with Hale Woodruff and Alice Dunbar. Simon was the first African-American to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Atlanta School of Art. In addition to painting, Simon was also a sculptor, writer, seamstress, and homemaker. Her works have been exhibited at such prestigious institutions as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the High Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum of California, and the DuSable Museum of African American History.