Joe Robert LaFone Jr.

1942 - 2023

Joe Robert LaFone, Jr., 80, died on October 5, 2023, after two years of declining health. He was born in Hickory, N.C., on October 15, 1942, to Addie Hathcock LaFone and Joe Robert LaFone, Sr., both natives of Catawba County. Joe's ancestry traces to the area's earliest settlers and to a Cherokee heritage.

When Joe was 15, he saw the movie "Lust for Life", the story of artist Vincent Van Gogh. Instantly, he knew his life's journey would be the pursuit of art. Unable to afford college, Joe started his art education with visits to the Ringling Art Museum in Sarasota, Florida, while he supported himself as a shoe salesman. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City. Over the next few decades, he worked in varied positions at museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He worked in art restoration at the Ackland Art Museum of the University of North Carolina, at the Duke University Art Museum, the Cummer Museum of Art in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Hickory Museum of Art.

In 1997 God came to Joe in a dream and told him to paint Grandfather Mountain endlessly, to paint a credible still life and to iron his shirts. Later he commented that he accomplished the first two commands. For the remainder of his life he followed his artistic muse and his old mentor, Vincent Van Gogh, to create paintings in oils and pastels in bright, strong colors imbued with Joe's warm, generous character. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of material culture, he made his living dealing in flea market treasures, in art restoration, and in teaching private art classes while arranging local art exhibitions. Joe was the center of an underground art community of friends, supporters and fans. He was a local personality who was always willing to share his knowledge of art. Joe LaFone left a legacy of more than 2000 paintings to brighten rooms and delight art collectors across the South.

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