Francis Coates Jones was born in Baltimore in 1857. He first demonstrated interest in art when visiting Edwin Austin Abbey in 1876. From there, Jones traveled to the artist's colony in Pont-Aven, Brittany. His sojourn at Pont-Aven was brief; he left for Paris in the autumn of 1877 to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, eventually studying under Jules Joseph Lefebvre and William Adolphe Bouguereau.

The influence of his academic training is apparent in the detail, precision, and subject matter of his work. Yet what sets his style apart is the richness of the way he treats the pigment and light. Later in his career Jones came under the influence of Impressionism, and his works painted in the Berkshires Mountains were generally his preferred subject matter.

Jones taught at the National Academy of Design. He was a member of the American Federation of Artists, American Watercolor Society, Salmagundi Club, and the Society of American Artists to name only a few.  His works can be found in Art Instiute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massschusetts.