T. Catesby Jones Personal Papers (SC-06)

Thomas “T.” Catesby Jones was born in Petersburg, Virginia in 1880, the third son of Walter Nelson Jones, owner of one of the city’s most prominent mills. After studying at Hampden-Sydney College, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia, Jones graduated with his law degree in 1902 and shortly moved to Norfolk to set up a law practice. In 1911, he moved to New York City to take a job at the firm of Harrington, Bigham, and Englar, where he worked for the rest of his life and established an international reputation in maritime law. In addition, Jones spent twenty years amassing a renowned collection of modern French art and prints, later donated to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Virginia.

Michael “Mickey” Alexander Agelasto was born in Syros, Greece in 1869 and died in Norfolk, Virginia in 1949. He attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated from Columbia University in 1891, where he played varsity tennis and then semi-professional for several years afterwards. He eventually settled in Norfolk, and worked in the family business as a cotton broker. Agelasto’s extended family lived throughout the world and he travelled frequently to England, France, Greece, Italy, and Egypt. In 1916, Agelasto was appointed Greek Consul to the Port of Norfolk and had diplomatic responsibility for receiving all Greek vessels.

It is believed that Jones and Agelasto met professionally in Norfolk and subsequently became lifelong friends. Both men had an interest in modern art, and were members of the Museum of Modern Art from its earliest days. Agelasto continued his friendship with Jones’ widow, Louisa Brooke Jones, after Catesby’s death in 1946.

Source: Matisse, Picasso, and Modern Art in Paris

Source: Email exchange between Courtney Yevich Tkacz and Parker Agelasto, March 2011