Kids' Feature
Celebrate Black History Month with fun portraits of artist William H. Johnson.
Johnson was born in Florence, South Carolina, in 1901. After training at the National Academy of Design in New York City, Johnson continued his study of art in Paris. He lived abroad for twelve years in France, Scandinavia, and North Africa and married Danish weaver Holcha Krake. With the outbreak of World War II, Johnson returned with Holcha to the United States, where he became well known for his bright, bold paintings of African Americans.
See several portraits of William H. Johnson with our video and the QuickTime plug-in!
QuickTime video
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If you want to learn more, visit our exhibition A Journey through Art with William H. Johnson. Educators, check out our online teacher's guide as well!
Source: Gwendolyn H. Everett. Li'l Sis and Uncle Willie: A Story Based on the Life and Paintings of William H. Johnson (New York and Washington, D.C.: Rizzoli International Publications in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1991).
Pictured: William H. Johnson, 1901–1970, Self-Portrait, 1929, oil, 23 1/4 x 18 1/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.
Celebrate Black History Month with fun portraits of artist William H. Johnson.
Johnson was born in Florence, South Carolina, in 1901. After training at the National Academy of Design in New York City, Johnson continued his study of art in Paris. He lived abroad for twelve years in France, Scandinavia, and North Africa and married Danish weaver Holcha Krake. With the outbreak of World War II, Johnson returned with Holcha to the United States, where he became well known for his bright, bold paintings of African Americans.