William H. Johnson : an American modern
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
William H. Johnson : an American modern
（Jacob Lawrence series on American artists）
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) , James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State University , In association with University of Washington Press, c2011
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WH Johnson : an American modern
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Note
Exhibition catalogue
"Published on the occasion of the exhibition ... organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Morgan State University, opening September 2011."--Colophon
Includes bibliographical references (p. 116)
Description and Table of Contents
Description
"My aim is to express in a natural way what I feel, what is in me, both rhythmically and spiritually, all that which in time has been saved up in my family of primitiveness and tradition, and which is now concentrated in me."--William H. Johnson
An essential figure in modern American art, William H. Johnson (1901-1970) was a virtuoso skilled in various media and techniques, who produced thousands of works over a career that spanned decades, continents, and genres. This volume considers paintings from the collection of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, that show the pivotal stages in Johnson's career as a modernist painter of post-impressionist and expressionist works reminiscent of Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Soutine, and the vernacular paintings in which he articulates his specific, unforgettable voice as an artist.
In this lavishly illustrated book, some of the world's premier scholars of William H. Johnson and African American art history examine the artist and his artistic genius in fresh new ways, including his relationship with one of his earliest patrons, the Harmon Foundation; the critical role played by scholars at the nation's historically black colleges and universities; the context of Johnson's experiences living in Harlem and his deep southern roots; and Johnson as a trailblazer in the genres of still life and landscape painting.
Table of Contents
Foreword, Anna R. Cohn
Introduction, Gabriel Tenabe
1. Preserving a Legacy, David C. Driskell
2. Trembling Vistas, Primal Youth, Richard J. Powell
3. Johnson and the Semiotics of Landscape and Still Life, Lowery Stokes Sims
4. Rural Rituals and Urban Realities, Leslie King-Hammond
5. Creating Church, Leslie King-Hammond
6. Devotion and Disrepute, Richard J. Powell
7. BLACK thou ART . . . BLACK thou AIN'T, Aaron Bryant
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Image Credits
by "Nielsen BookData"
