Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878-1958), merchant and arts patron, grew up in Sydney, where he studied at Julian Ashton's art school in 1895. Showing little promise as an artist, he qualified as a tailor and cutter in London before marrying. His grandfather was David Jones, and he began work in the David Jones clothing factory in 1902. By 1905, he was the store's advertising manager; he became a director in 1906, when David Jones Limited became a public company, and was to be its chairman from 1920 to 1958, as the store expanded in Sydney and then across the country. Amongst his many other public positions was the first chairmanship of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, in 1932. Together with Sydney Ure Smith and Bertram Stevens, he founded Art in Australia and The Home. He was a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for twenty-four years and established the David Jones' Art Gallery. He persisted with his own painting, and exhibited often with the Society of Artists, of which he was treasurer from time to time; he is represented in the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria. At the same time, he built up a very significant collection of paintings by other artists. He lived at Rosemount in Ocean Street, Woollahra, was a member of several clubs and was commodore of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron from 1949 to 1955; his close friend, Sir Robert Menzies, gave his funeral oration.
