William H. Johnson Exhibit
An exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution
Traveling Exhibition Service opened April 19
at Phoenix Art Museum. The exhibition
features rare paintings by William H. Johnson,
from the collection of the James E. Lewis
Museum at Morgan State University.
An essential figure in modern American art, Johnson (1901 – 1970) was a virtuoso skilled in various media and techniques, and produced thousands of works over a career that spanned decades, continents and genres.
William H. Johnson: An American Modern will be on view through July 13, 2014, and Phoenix Art Museum is the final venue of a multi-city tour. The pivotal stages of Johnson’s career as a modernist painter are assembled in this group of rarely seen paintings. Every step of his artistic development is conveyed – from his post-impressionist and expressionist works of the 1920s to vibrant vernacular paintings from the end of his career in the 1940s, in which Johnson articulated his distinctive, unforgettable vision as an American modern artist.
The paintings boast a remarkable history. In 1956 the Harmon Foundation, a nonprofit that helped foster awareness of African American art from 1922 until it closed in 1967, took ownership of Johnson’s own collection of art – saving it all from being destroyed. When the foundation had to shut its doors, they donated more than 1,000 works to the Smithsonian’s National Collections of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum). The terms of the agreement called for the Smithsonian to donate artworks to several black colleges and universities, including Morgan State University. The founding chair of Morgan’s art department, James E. Lewis, carefully selected these works for his museum’s permanent collection.
Above, right: William H. Johnson, Blind Singer, 1941. Printed using jouache or poster paints.
Some of the additional paintings in the exhibition
William H. Johnson, Aunt Alice, 1944. Oil on compressed cardboard.
William H. Johnson, Ring Around the Rosey, 1944. Oil on compressed cardboard.
William H. Johnson, Sowing, 1940. Gouache.
William H. Johnson, Jitterbugs, ca. 1941. Gouache.
Developed by Morgan State University and SITES, William H. Johnson: An American Modern is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the henry Luce foundation, Morgan State University foundation Inc. and the Ford Motor Company Fund.
