Ubi Girl from Tai Region
A young woman's face painted for initiation, set beside Congolese masks and bold pattern — the centrepiece of Jones's post-1970 African canvases, now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
- 1972
- Acrylic on canvas
About Loïs Mailou Jones
Painted from a journey
In 1970 Jones travelled through Africa on a research grant, photographing and sketching in eleven countries. The painting distils the trip: the face of a young woman from the Taï region of Côte d'Ivoire, painted for initiation into womanhood, rendered realistically amid flat masks and pattern.
Two carved masks from Congo flank the face. Jones sets the living girl and the sculpted traditions side by side, joining West and Central Africa on one canvas — her statement of a unified African inheritance.
Boston's Jones
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — the museum whose school trained her in the 1920s — holds the painting, and has made it a centrepiece of its modern displays. For the museum of her home city to anchor its account of her with this canvas closes a circle Jones herself often pointed out.
Frequently asked questions
What does Ubi Girl from Tai Region show?
The face of a young woman from the Taï region of Côte d'Ivoire, marked with red initiation paint, beside two carved Congolese masks and fields of bold pattern. The realistic face and the flat masks share one surface.
When did Loïs Mailou Jones paint Ubi Girl from Tai Region?
In 1972, from material gathered on her 1970 research journey through eleven African countries.
What does the painting's title mean?
It identifies the sitter: a girl who spoke the Ubi dialect, from the Taï region of Côte d'Ivoire, whose face is painted for initiation into womanhood.
Where is Ubi Girl from Tai Region now?
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — the museum whose school had trained Jones in the 1920s.
Why does the painting combine a face with masks?
To join the living present and the sculptural traditions of Africa in one image. Jones placed West African face painting beside Central African carving as a single inheritance — the theme of her whole late career.
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References
The sources below include collection records, catalogues, scholarly research, and primary materials that informed this page. They document Ubi Girl from Tai Region, its making, and its place in cultural history.
1Ubi Girl from Tai Region — collection entry
WebsiteMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Ubi Girl from Tai Region page.
2Ubi Girl from Tai Region — collection story
WebsiteMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Ubi Girl from Tai Region page.
3Loïs Mailou Jones — artist page
WebsiteSmithsonian American Art MuseumUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Ubi Girl from Tai Region page.
4Lois Mailou Jones — Encyclopaedia Britannica
WebsiteEncyclopaedia BritannicaUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Ubi Girl from Tai Region page.
These references provide the documented foundation for this work's history and interpretation. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.
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