Date: September 28, 2005    
Stop: November 11, 2005
Media Contact: Patricia White
706-722-8454 or pwhite@csra.net

Exhibition Opening
The Color of Money:
Images of Slavery in Confederate and Southern States Currency
The paintings of John W. Jones

September 24, 2005 through November 11, 2005

The Augusta Museum of History will open the traveling exhibition, The Color of Money: Images of Slavery in Confederate and Southern States Currency, on September 24, 2005.

In 1996, while working as a graphic artist at a blueprint company in Charleston, South Carolina, John W. Jones enlarged a Confederate bank note for a costumer and found himself looking at an engraving of slaves picking cotton. Intrigued and excited, he started researching and documenting the use of slaves on Confederate and Southern states money. He decided to bring the engravings to light as a series of colorful acrylic paintings. The paintings are presented as originally portrayed on the currencies and reflect the strong and indomitable character of the slaves and the qualities they brought with them from Africa.

ìThe exhibition is a fascinating display of how history and art can be presentedî said Nancy Glaser, Augusta Museum of History Executive Director. In bringing the images to the foreground, Mr. Jones reveals a story few history books tell.  The Color of Money innocuously draws you in and makes a very powerful statement about the contribution of enslaved Africans in the American economy and in the form of music, religion, storytelling, art, architecture, agriculture, and culinary traditions

Hanging in juxtaposition, paintings and currencies create a compelling experience of discovery. The exhibition includes several decades worth of Southern bank note images from such locales as Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, South Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Tallahassee, Florida and includes the oldest known currency ever to feature black Americans: a $5 bill issued in 1820 by the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Augusta.

The exhibition will remain open through November 11, 2005.

The Color of Money is sponsored by:
Capitol City Bank
Hargrove Leadership Services
Beulah Grove Baptist Church
Dr. Clarence L. Williams

The Augusta Museum of History is located at 560 Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Admission is: Adult: $4•Senior: $3•Child: (6-18) $2-(5and under) Free