 oil on canvas 64.5 x 81.0 cm (25 3/8 x 31 7/8 in.) Gift of the Harmon Foundation |
At the age of seventeen, William H. Johnson left his home in Florence, South Carolina, to pursue job opportunities in New York City. Three years later, he applied for and was admitted to the art school of the National Academy of Design. There, for the first time in his life, Johnson worked closely with people of different races, nationalities, and religions. Johnson's instructor, Charles Hawthorne, emphasized the importance of spontaneity and encouraged his students to explore the expressive possibilities of color. Johnson soon moved away from his precise drawings toward an approach that emphasized "spots of color," which we can see in Johnson's early painting, Still Life. |