Jay Datus (1914–1974) was an American artist known primarily for his mural painting in Arizona.
Early life
Jay Datus was born in Jackson, Michigan, March 24, 1914, to Jesse Datus Smith and Marguerite Wood Smith. His birth name was Jesse Datus Smith, Jr. The family moved about living a short time in Chicago and eventually moving to Worcester, MA, the home of his mother. Datus attended Sever Street Preparatory School and Classical High School in Worcester. He graduated from Classical High and the Worcester (MA) Museum School of Fine Arts in 1931. He then attended Yale School of Fine Arts from 1931 to 1934, studying with Eugene Savage. He briefly studied portraiture with Wyman Adams in New York and London. It is during this time that presumably Jesse, Jr. changed his name to Jay Datus for professional reasons (the 1930 census records list him as J. Datus so Jay Datus might have been a natural progression).
Datus moved back to Chicago in the mid-1930s where he opened his first studio. He did murals for private homes and some portraits. He even participated in two exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1936 and 1937. He married Martha (Marty) Berry in 1936. She too was an artist, but specialized in landscapes.
The Mural at the Arizona State Library
At the age of 23, Datus won the honor to paint the murals in the Arizona State Library for a WPA project. Datus and his wife traveled to Arizona from Illinois where they remained for most of the two years it took to complete the project. Before beginning the actual painting, Datus spent extensive time studying the various subjects. For example, working closely with Mulford Winsor, the Arizona State Librarian at the time who had done some research on the topic, Datus carefully included Apache smoke signals in the smaller panels, but only after further consultation with other Apaches. He was extremely concerned that his paintings were accurate in every detail although he did take some liberties in combining some groups. Datus presented his research notes and descriptions of each panel to the State Library when he was done. These were to be the basis for a brochure about the mural, but they were never published. The September 1944 issue of Arizona Highways featured these murals.
Following the completion of the murals, Datus and Marty returned to Illinois. However, Marty died after a short illness October 15, 1940. He did have a one-man show at the O’Brien Galleries in Chicago for one week, November 26 – December 7, 1940, which included ten portraits and four cartoons for the Pageant of Arizona Progress mural. By mid January 1941, Datus finished work on some sketches for a proposed mural for the Illinois Bell Building in Chicago and asked Mulford Winsor for a letter of recommendation. Datus did not win that completion.
World War II - 1947
In March 1941, Datus joined the Cook County, IL National Guard (he had told Mulford Winsor that he had a rather low draft number and felt that he would be called up soon). Starting off as a private in the Army Field Artillery, by November, he was a corporal stationed at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. Again he asked Mulford Winsor for a recommendation for admission to Officers’ Training School (it had become a standing joke between the two that that was the primary reason Datus would write after leaving Arizona). Datus was successful and started OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in February 1942, graduating in May 1942 as part of the 12th OCS class of that year. He was subsequently commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. It is unclear when he shipped out and with what unit. While serving in the South Pacific though, Datus briefly managed to draw portraits on scraps of paper or tent canvas.
When WWII ended, Datus returned to Chicago where he eventually married Edette Kable June 14, 1946, an employee in the paint store Datus frequented. During this time, Datus did do some commercial work, a set of twelve pictures, which were used on gas station and grocery store calendars for at least two years. Datus also adopted Edette's young daughter, Cynthia.
Later years 1948 – 1974
Datus apparently had never forgotten the beauty of Arizona. Thus, in 1948, he, his wife, and daughter returned to Arizona and settled permanently in Phoenix. On what is now the northeast corner of 30th Street and Clarendon, Datus established the Kachina School of Art and his home.