Cain, Joseph "Jo" Lambert

CAIN, RACHEOTES

Posted By: Bill Rathbun (email)
Date: 9/21/2003 at 15:47:26

September 17, 2003

Joseph "Jo" Lambert Cain, 99, of Fairfield, died Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003.

Mr. Cain was born April 16, 1904, in New Orleans, the son of Joseph Lambert and Julie Blum Cain. He married Matene Racheotes in 1935.

Mr. Cain never finished high school but attended a number of art schools and studied with many noted artists. His work has been exhibited at a number of venues including the Museum of Modern Art and National Academy of Design. He was commissioned in 1933 to paint the largest mural in the United States, a 20,000 square foot series of paintings. He was the recipient of numerous fellowships.

Mr. Cain and his wife left New York in 1944, when he founded the art department of the University of Rhode Island. He also founded a popular summer art workshop and was an advocate for contemporary art and art education.

Mr. Cain retired in 1970 but continued working as an artist. He and his wife moved to Fairfield in 1997 to live with their son and his family.

Since 1999, his paintings have been shown at galleries in New York, Boston and Charleston, N.C. He was the subject of articles in numerous publications, including two recent issues of Antiques and Arts Weekly.

Survivors include one son, Michael Peter Cain and wife Charlotte of Fairfield; two granddaughters; and one great-grandson.

Courtesy of the Fairfield Daily Ledger