DeKalb Historical Society Partners with Jackson Bailey Art Foundation to Bring World’s Largest Oil Painting Back to Artist’s Home

Pictured (left to right): Sue Ellen Williams, Executive Director of the DeKalb Historical Society; Rev. W. Charles Goe, Secretary of the Jackson Bailey Art Foundation; Chan Boutin, Treasurer of the Jackson Bailey Art Museum; and Jackson Bailey III, son of artist Jackson Bailey II and President of the Jackson Bailey Art Museum.

The Jackson Bailey Art Museum recently presented the DeKalb Historical Society with a plaque to thank them for their assistance in bringing home "The Life of Christ" masterpiece by artist Jackson Bailey. Bailey, who passed away in 2004, loved DeKalb County and created, among other things, the county's flag and seal.

Measuring at 11 by 1,000 feet, the Guinness Book of Records has declared "The Life of Christ" to be the largest oil painting of its kind in the world. Painted in the late 60s, the painting is comprised of 50 canvases and has been stored for two decades in a Florida warehouse until December 2005.

The DeKalb Historical Society worked with the Jackson Bailey Art Museum to provide the mechanism for the donation of the painting back to the family from its previous owner in Florida. The painting is now being restored in Marietta. The Jackson Bailey Art Museum expects the restoration to take about three years. Upon completion, they hope to make the painting available for public viewing.

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