U.S. Grant Tayes Explained

U.S. Grant Tayes
Other Names:	Ulysses S. Grant Tayes, Ulysses Tayes
Birth Date:	October 26, 1885
Birth Place:	Warrensburg, Missouri, U.S.
Death Place:	Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.
Burial Place:	Longview Cemetery, Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.
Education:	Lincoln University
Occupation:	Visual artist, barber, musician, writer, educator
Years Active:	1929–1950
Known For:	Painting, watercolor
Spouse:	Mary Aline Lane, Laura Alice Jackson, Lillian Lee
Children:	1

U.S. Grant Tayes (October 26, 1885—June 15, 1972), was an American painter and watercolorist, active in Missouri from the 1930s through 1950s.^[1] His artwork was centered around documenting his Black community in Missouri. He was a self-taught visual artist, who benefited from professional mentorship in his later life. Tayes also worked as a teacher, a barber, and a columnist. Other names used include Ulysses S. Grant Tayes, Ulysses Grant Tayes, and Ulysses Tayes.

Early life and education

U.S. Grant Tayes was born on October 26, 1885, in Warrensburg, Missouri into an African American family.^[2] He found inspiration during his childhood in Warrensburg where he saw local painters at work, including George Probst and Walter Hout.

He attended the HBU Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri and received a B.S. degree (1936) in education. He married three times, to Mary Aline Lane, Laura Alice Jackson, and Lillian Lee; and had one daughter.

Career

From 1929 until 1935, Tayes lived in St. Louis. The “Tayes Art Museum” was the informal name of his in St. Louis barbershop at 122 North Third Street; he would display his artwork there.^[3] He was a member of the St. Louis Society of Independent Artists. Tayes was also a musician and performed on the local St. Louis radio station in the 1930s; and was a columnist and wrote for the St. Louis Argus in the 1930s. While living in St. Louis, he was mentored by artists Frederick C. Alston and Edmund H. Wuerpel.

He moved to Jefferson City, Missouri in 1935, and remained there until 1950. Tayes worked as a barber out of his home at 528 Lafayette Street in Jefferson City; in an African American neighborhood's commercial district (during racial segregation) called "The Foot".^{[4] [5]} His neighborhood "The Foot" was often the subject of his artwork, with works such as the Barber Shop (1947), and the Bar Scene. His neighbor was noted businessman, Duke Diggs. "The Foot" neighborhood of Jefferson City no longer exists, but it was unearthed during the Lafayette Street interchange construction in 2015.

Tayes died on June 15, 1972, in Jefferson City.

Exhibitions

• 1929, "Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists" group exhibition by the Urban League of St. Louis, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri
• 1930, "Exhibit of Fine Arts by American Negro Artists" group exhibition by Harmon Foundation
• 1932, "St. Louis Post-Dispatch Black and White Exhibition" by St. Louis Artists' Guild, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri
• 1933, "1933 Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists", group exhibition by Harmon Foundation at the Art Centre, New York City, New York^[6]
• 1933, "5th Annual Art Exhibition for Negro Artists", group exhibition, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri; first prize winner^[7]
• 1939, "15th Annual Art Exhibition of Negro Artists in Oil and Water Colors", group exhibition, St. Louis Urban Art League, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri^{[8] [9]}
• 1944, "Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists", group exhibition by Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), Atlanta, Georgia
• 1945, "Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Prints by Negro Artists", group exhibition by Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), Atlanta, Georgia
• 2019, "Selections from the Melvin Holmes Collection of African American Art Exhibition", group exhibition by the Melvin Holmes Collection of African American Art, Tyler Fine Art

Further reading

• Book: Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Mo.) . Collegian: Lincoln University . 1930 . Lincoln University . en. 25.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Knuteson . John . 2021 . U.S. Grant Tayes . https://web.archive.org/web/20240222020656/https://missouriartists.org/person/morem126/ . 2024-02-22 . 2023-12-26 . Missouri Remembers . The Kansas City Art Institute, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The St. Louis Public Library . St. Louis, MO . en.
2. News: 1937-04-09 . Paintings by U.S. Grant Tayes, Former Porter, Wins Recognition . 2024-02-22 . Daily Star-Journal . 1 . Newspapers.com.
3. Book: Negro Artists: An Illustrated Review of Their Achievements . 1935 . Harmon Foundation Incorporated . . 57 . en.
4. Book: Brooks, Michelle . Lost Jefferson City . February 2022 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-4671-5035-4 . 58 . en.
5. Web site: Clark . Lauren . 2015-05-31 . Archaeological pieces of African-American neighborhood unearthed . 2023-12-26 . . en.
6. Book: Exhibition of Work by Negro Artists . Harmon Foundation . 1933 . New York City, New York . The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
7. News: 1933-06-30 . Prize Winners In Art Exhibition Announced . 2024-02-22 . St. Louis Globe-Democrat . 7 . Newspapers.com.
8. News: Jackson . Helen S. . 1939-12-08 . Here And There . 2024-02-22 . . 3 . Newspapers.com.
9. News: 1939-12-03 . Urban League Sponsors Oil and Water Color Exhibit . 2024-02-22 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . 18 . Newspapers.com.