Victor Thomas Jacoby

Victor Jacoby, an internationally recognized Eureka visual artist whose chosen medium was French tapestry, established the Victor Thomas Jacoby Fund with HAF+WRCF before his death in 1997 at age 52. Victor’s vision inspired his friend Dr. Rosalind Novick to make an additional gift to the fund and expand his dream of supporting local artists. This trust fund is dedicated to supporting Humboldt County visual artists and craftspeople and encourages exploring new ideas, materials, techniques, and mediums. In addition, the fund distributes annual cash awards to artists or craftspeople selected by a review panel of leading arts representatives. 

Each fall, local artists are invited to apply for the Victor Thomas Jacoby Award by submitting examples of their work and sharing their vision for innovating and elevating their art. The award’s focus shifts on a five-year cycle: for three of the five years the award is open to all Humboldt County–based artists, in the fourth year it is limited to Eureka based artists, and in the fifth year it is limited to artists working in textiles. Artists interested in applying or learning more can visit our grants portal at hafoundation.org/apply.

Each year the Foundation updates the Victor Thomas Jacoby book, inviting readers to ‘meet the winners’ of past years. Originally compiled by Victor’s friends Kay Gott Chaffey, Bob Doran, Alan Sanborn, and Gary Bloomfield, the Kay Gott Chaffey Jacoby Book Fund, established by Kay Gott Chaffey in 2014, supports the continued production of the book, documenting local artists and the impact of the award each year. You can find past issues of the book at hafoundation.org/publications.

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