Journeys

During his lifetime William H. Johnson made journeys to many different places throughout the world. His exposure to new cultures, landscapes, cities, ideas, and people expanded his horizons artistically and personally. Each page in this section tells about one of the places Johnson visited or lived, shows an example of the work he did there, and provides related activities. The pages are arranged chronologically so you can observe how Johnson's painting style evolved.

Mountain Stream, around 1930–32
oil on burlap
73.4 x 82.8 cm (23 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.)
Gift of the Harmon Foundation

UNIT ACTIVITIES

Make a list of all of the towns and cities that Johnson lived or visited. Use the World Wide Web to locate and print out maps of these different places. Assemble the maps on a big piece of paper in their relative locations and draw lines that represent Johnson's journey from one place to another.

Do you think you would like to travel and live in as many different locations as Johnson did? What are the advantages of being exposed to new places? If you moved all over the world, do you think it would it be hard to decide which country to call "home?" What makes a place a home?

Have your class plan a make-believe field trip to visit France, Denmark, or Norway. Gather information about the country of your choice from the World Wide Web, your local travel agent, or by writing to a tourist board. Assign different teams of students to work on the following projects. What sights and points of interest do you want to see? Research what the best means of transportation will be to move around the country. What will the weather be like when you go? What kinds of clothing should you pack? How long do you want to stay? What type of currency will you need? What language is spoken? Would you suggest that you and your classmates learn some conversational words to help you get around? How much will your trip cost?