
I Baptize Thee
"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. JohnsonIn Director's Choice, Elizabeth Broun discusses William H. Johnson's deeply expressive painting, I Baptize Thee. Johnson uses masterful composition and deceptively simple style to create a powerful and intense religious experience.
Learn more about Johnson's life and career in this Director's Choice tour.
Pictured: William H. Johnson, 190170, I Baptize Thee, about 1940, oil, 38 1/4 x 45 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.