Local-Denver Artist “Jess DuBois” Celebration of Life Memorial To Take Place at Park Hill Golf Course/Clubhouse

Local-Denver artist Jess DuBois "Celebration of Life Memorial" will take place on Sunday, February 28th at Park Hill Golf Course/Clubhouse from 1:30p to 4:30p.

DuBois was born on July 6, 1934, in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from the inaugural class of The Art Institute of Colorado in 1957. DuBois then traveled the country to study with several established artists including Ray Vanilla, David Lafel, and Daniel Greene. As a Creole of Cherokee ancestry, Dubois was passionate about Native American art. He showcased it in his successful DuBois Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado until he was forced to close following the town's devastating 1982 flood. He subsequently returned to his native Five Points neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, where he cultivated the arts of glassblowing and sculpture, combining those skills with his existing media of landscape paintings and portraits.

DuBois received The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1988 Denver Black Arts Festival, where he was lauded for his ability to "Project the soul of his subjects onto canvas."

The Denver-area Regional Transportation District commissioned him to cast a bronze statue of Denver's first African-American doctor, obstetrician Dr. Justina Ford, which was dedicated in 1998. It can be viewed at the 30th & Downing Light Rail Station in Denver.

DuBois was one of three artists who received the Denver Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts in 2004. He was inducted into the Art Institute of Colorado Hall of Fame that same year.

He was also recognized by the City and County of Denver as a Five Points Jazz honoree in 2019.

Today, his work is featured in galleries in Santa Fe, Taos and art venues around the world.

Thousands have marveled at his ability to capture likenesses of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, figures from the early American West, John Elway and jazz greats like Ray Charles. All of the Tuskegee Airmen signed his portraits.

Jess E. DuBois served his country as a proud Marine and received global recognition as an artist who, at nearly 90 years old, inspired children to paint. It was after serving his country as a Marine in the Korean War that DuBois discovered a hidden treasure within himself at the Colorado Institute of Art. Jess DuBois passed away on December 28, 2022, after battling with cancer at the age of 88.

Jess DuBois, was a world renowned artist who is known for his Colorado Landscapes in acrylic, oils and pastels. He was an all-around creative artist specializing in large-scale paintings, self portraits, sculpture, and glass blowing. DuBois' beautiful paintings, sketches and sculptures grace galleries and fine art collections around the world to include New Mexico, Arizona, California & Colorado.

Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/artofdubois/.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Touring Production - Top 3

1. Hadestown

10.3% of votes

2. Hamilton

9% of votes

3. Les Misérables

8.8% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats