Weekend, March 27-28, 2021 – WILLIAM H. JOHNSON BRINGS THE STORIES OF LIFE WITH HIS ART

By admin

322nd Edition

WEEKEND EDITION

MARCH  27-28  2021

JOYOUS CELEBRATIONS 

BY

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON

AT

THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

I’ve been thinking a lot about Marian Anderson lately, the great contralto whose concert on Easter Sunday seventy-one years ago at the Lincoln Memorial brought the nation together in the name of civil rights. When Anderson was denied the use of DAR Constitution Hall because she was black, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt famously resigned from the DAR, while members of the Roosevelt administration, notably Harold Ickes, rallied around the Philadelphia-born singer and arranged for her to perform on the steps of the memorial. On the afternoon of April 9, 1939, tens of thousands of people attended the concert, while others listened using their radios at home.

That same year, African American artist William H. Johnson created Marian Anderson #1, which speaks to the hope of that event with a childlike ease. The bright colors are optimistic. The lights seem to grow out of the ground like fairy-tale mushrooms, while the tall and slender microphones could be her back-up singers. In the background, President Lincoln reclines a bit like he has just eaten a large meal. His right hand almost seems to be giving the thumbs-up sign of approval to Anderson; he’s clearly proud. Anderson, on the other hand, is beaming. You can almost hear her deep honey voice pouring out of her open mouth. The image belies the fact that when she arrived in Washington, D.C., from Philadelphia earlier that morning, she and her mother were denied a hotel room because of their skin color.

Johnson and Anderson were both born in the United States but continued their studies overseas. In Paris, Johnson fell in love with and married Danish artist Holcha Krake. At home, Anderson was restricted by Jim Crow laws, segregation, and prejudice. In Europe, she flourished and became a star. She was a huge success all over Europe, but her concerts in Scandinavia in the 1930s were history-in-the-making. I wonder if Marian, William, and Holcha met in Europe when they were young and starting out.

William H. Johnson, Going Out, ca. 1939-1942, gouache, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1088

A mother and daughter, dressed to the nines, are ready for a night on the town, likely in Harlem. The mother is distinguished by her red beret, bright red lipstick, and high-heeled shoes, and the daughter by the bow in her hair, her white dress, and abstracted flowers. Johnson reveals a sense of humor in two flower forms that also suggest lollipops and breasts. Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2009

William H. Johnson, Blind Musician, ca. 1940, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.670

William H. Johnson’s paintings of African Americans were often based on scenes he remembered from his life in South Carolina and later in Harlem. Johnson may have based Blind Musician on such singers as Blind Boy Fuller, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, or the Reverend Gary Davis (Powell, Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson, 1991). These performers attracted notice in the South and made their way to Chicago and New York City, where their recordings helped make the blues tradition familiar to mainstream audiences. The background of crosshatched lines signals that these itinerant musicians belong in no particular place, and must make their way with only their voices, guitar, and tambourine

• William H. Johnson, Going to Church, ca. 1940-1941, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1003
• William H. Johnson painted rural scenes inspired in part by his memories of growing up in South Carolina. A family of four ride on an oxcart toward a distant hill, where three crosses mark their physical destination as well as their spiritual home on Calvary. The flat composition, comprised of clashing hues arranged in stripes and color blocks, recalls the story quilts made of scraps pieced together by African American women.

William H. Johnson, I Baptize Thee, ca. 1940, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.977

In the background of this painting, Sunday suits and best dresses evoke a Baptist congregation in a rural community. Nearer the viewer, however, the strong profiles, closed eyes, and exaggerated hands and feet recall African art and older rituals of faith. The preacher and congregants stand in a creek or a pond to symbolize crossing the River Jordan into a new life. This symbolism applied as well to the dramatic change in William H. Johnson’s career when he returned to America in 1938. He abandoned his European painting styles and subjects and vowed to paint the authentic spirit of ​“his own people.”

William H. Johnson, Harlem Cityscape with Church, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.289

WEEKEND PHOTO

(FIND OUT THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO ON MONDAY)
SEND IN YOUR SUBMISSION
ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

THE CAFE AND TERRACE AT ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

JAY JACOBSON, VICKI FEINMEL, &  GLORIA HERMAN
GOT IT RIGHT

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by  Deborah Dorff
Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Sources
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

FUNDING PROVIDED BY ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE GRANTS CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BEN KALLOS DISCRETIONARY FUNDING THRU DYCD

Copyright © 2021 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com