Lois Mailou Jones (1905 - 1998) American. Watercolor on Paper. Dated 1940. Measure 10 1/2"in H x 6 1/2"in W and 18 1/2"in H x 14 1/2"in W with frame. Known for: African figure-genre, landscape, still life and mask painting, teaching. Lois Mailou Jones's long career had many chapters. One that is less-known is her career as a designer. In their 2000 study of women in design Pat Kirkham and Lynne Walker report that during the last century the involvement of women in this industry was not that unusual.1 However, aside from a few women involved in quilting in the 1920s and 1930s who rose above the relative anonymity of that activity such as Wini Austin, Lucile Young, or Ruth Clement such opportunities were rare for an African American woman and probably were possible because of the relative anonymity with which designers worked and submitted designs. Jones would learn this was a double-edged sword.