J. R. Willis was born November 24th, 1876 in Goloid Community, Screven County, Georgia near Sylvania. His artistic career began as a political cartoonist during the Spanish American War. He also made fashion drawings for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. Around 1908 he went to New York and studied painting with Robert Henri. Next he went to Hollywood where he painted backdrops for Universal Studios. He also spent ten years in vaudeville as a "chalk talk" artist.
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