E. Fay Jones
*31. 1. 1921 – Pine Bluff, USA
†30. 8. 2004 – Fayetteville, USA
Biography
Euine Fay Jones was an American architect, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, recipient of the AIA Gold Medal (1990), and a long-time educator at the University of Arkansas, where he taught architecture for 35 years. In his youth, he worked at a family restaurant in El Dorado, Arkansas, and was also a long-time member of a scout troop.
His interest in architecture was evident as early as elementary school with designs for treehouses. One of his houses featured a functional brick fireplace and rolling doors. In 1938, inspired by a short film about the Johnson Wax headquarters designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Jones definitively decided to pursue a career in architecture. He hoped to obtain a place at the United States Naval Academy, and to increase his chances, he took civil engineering courses at the University of Arkansas. After the outbreak of World War II, Jones joined the United States Navy and served for fifteen months in the Pacific theater as a naval aviator piloting torpedo and dive bombers. In June 1943, he married Mary Elizabeth “Gus” Knox in San Francisco, with whom he later had two daughters. After the war, he returned to Little Rock, where he worked as a draftsman for an architectural engineering firm. His talent was recognized, and in 1946 he was encouraged to return to the University of Arkansas and enroll in a new architectural program initiated by John Williams. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1950.
He subsequently completed a graduate internship at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he obtained his Master of Architecture degree in 1951. During his stay in Houston, at Williams's urging, Jones attended the American Institute of Architects conference in 1949 in hopes of catching a glimpse of Wright, who was receiving the Gold Medal that year. Jones was introduced to Wright at a post-conference party, where he spent 30 minutes discussing Wright's views on architecture.
From 1951 to 1953, he taught at the University of Oklahoma, invited by Bruce Goff, who was Jones’s mentor and provided him with a different perspective on modern architecture. Jones applied for an internship at Wright's winter studio, Taliesin West, near Scottsdale, Arizona. Later, Wright invited the entire Jones family to his home and design institute, Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
He returned to both Taliesin studios many times as a friend and as a pupil and became a Taliesin Fellow in 1953. Jones greatly admired Wright but soon established a private practice in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas.
At Wright's suggestion, he joined the architecture department at the University of Arkansas, where he later served as the first dean of the School of Architecture. At the same time, he also pursued his own architectural practice.
Euine Fay Jones was an American architect, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, recipient of the AIA Gold Medal (1990), and a long-time educator at the University of Arkansas, where he taught architecture for 35 years. In his youth, he worked at a family restaurant in El Dorado, Arkansas, and was also a long-time member of a scout troop.
His interest in architecture was evident as early as elementary school with designs for treehouses. One of his houses featured a functional brick fireplace and rolling doors. In 1938, inspired by a short film about the Johnson Wax headquarters designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Jones definitively decided to pursue a career in architecture. He hoped to obtain a place at the United States Naval Academy, and to increase his chances, he took civil engineering courses at the University of Arkansas. After the outbreak of World War II, Jones joined the United States Navy and served for fifteen months in the Pacific theater as a naval aviator piloting torpedo and dive bombers. In June 1943, he married Mary Elizabeth “Gus” Knox in San Francisco, with whom he later had two daughters. After the war, he returned to Little Rock, where he worked as a draftsman for an architectural engineering firm. His talent was recognized, and in 1946 he was encouraged to return to the University of Arkansas and enroll in a new architectural program initiated by John Williams. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1950.
He subsequently completed a graduate internship at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he obtained his Master of Architecture degree in 1951. During his stay in Houston, at Williams's urging, Jones attended the American Institute of Architects conference in 1949 in hopes of catching a glimpse of Wright, who was receiving the Gold Medal that year. Jones was introduced to Wright at a post-conference party, where he spent 30 minutes discussing Wright's views on architecture.
From 1951 to 1953, he taught at the University of Oklahoma, invited by Bruce Goff, who was Jones’s mentor and provided him with a different perspective on modern architecture. Jones applied for an internship at Wright's winter studio, Taliesin West, near Scottsdale, Arizona. Later, Wright invited the entire Jones family to his home and design institute, Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
He returned to both Taliesin studios many times as a friend and as a pupil and became a Taliesin Fellow in 1953. Jones greatly admired Wright but soon established a private practice in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas.
At Wright's suggestion, he joined the architecture department at the University of Arkansas, where he later served as the first dean of the School of Architecture. At the same time, he also pursued his own architectural practice.
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