Biografie von J.R. WILLIS (1876-1960)
Birth place: Sylvania, GA
Addresses: Atlanta, GA; California; Gallup, NM; Albuquerque, NM, 1930s
Profession: Painter, photographer, journalist
Studied: Robert Henri and Wm. Merritt Chase, beginning 1902
Exhibited: Sante Fe, NM, during the 1930s
Work: Sante Fe Public Lib.; Denver Public Lib.
Comments: Worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution before beginning his art studies in 1902. He next worked in motion pictures and the newspaper business in California, afterward moving to New Mexico where he established a photography studio in Gallup. Willis spent his summers painting on the Reservations of Arizona and New Mexico. He moved to Albuquerque, NM, in the early 1930s, spending his winters in New Orleans or Atlanta. Painted a historical mural for Gallup, NM, under the WPA program.
Sources: Dawdy, vol. 2; info courtesy Ingeborg Gal., Northfield, MA