William H. Johnson in 10 Artworks—From Post-Impressionism to Folk Art

Johnson was well-read, a student of folk traditions, and attentive to the work of other artists. The 10 paintings below showcase his sprawling artistic reach within 22 active years as an artist.

1. Self-Portrait, 1923–1926

Born in 1901, Johnson grew up in Florence, South Carolina, where he enjoyed drawing and copying cartoons out of newspapers. At the age of 17, he moved to New York and enrolled in the National Academy of Design, thinking he might pursue a career in cartooning. He received classical training in painting, and his early works show a grounding in realism.

2. Still Life, 1923–1926

This painting showcases Johnson’s extraordinary talent and is reflective of the instruction he received at the National Academy of Design. Johnson grew close with Charles W. Hawthorne, an instructor who also ran the Cape Cod School of Art. In the summers, between 1924 and 1926, Johnson worked as a handyman at the Cape Cod School and studied under Hawthorne.

3. Village Houses, Cagnes-sur-Mer, 1928–1929

Despite Johnson’s talent, he failed to win the National Academy of Design’s most prestigious award in 1926, which would have come with a travel scholarship and continued training abroad. Instead, the prize went to a white student, Umberto Romano. Seeing this as an injustice, Hawthorne scraped together money on Johnson’s behalf. Johnson also earned extra money working in the studio of Ashcan School artist George Luks, from whom he also received instruction. With their help, Johnson traveled to Cagnes-sur-Mer in southern France.

4. Self-Portrait, 1929

Like other Black American expatriate artists during this period, including Augusta Savage, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Laura Wheeler Waring, and Archibald Motley Jr., Johnson enjoyed more freedoms in France than in Jim Crow-era United States. When in Europe, Johnson’s paintings started to depart from his training in realism and to reflect the rising tide of Post-Impressionism and Expressionism. However, meeting Danish artist Holcha Krake, whom he would later marry, had a profound impact on his art and the trajectory of his life.

5. Danish Roadside, 1930

Johnson returned to New York in 1929 and, with encouragement from George Luks, applied for the Harmon Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes in the Fine Arts Field. He won the prize, and the Harmon Foundation took several of his paintings on tour in the early 1930s. Johnson also returned to his native Florence, South Carolina, and held a show in the local YMCA, where his mother worked as a cook.

6. Sun Setting, Denmark, 1930

Returning to Europe, Johnson reunited with Holcha Krake, and they were married in 1930. The interracial relationship would have been illegal in most of the United States, including Johnson’s home state of South Carolina. In Denmark, however, Johnson was well-received by Krake’s family and was free of the U.S. racial caste system. The two settled in Kerteminde, and the people and scenery of the harbor town became a major focus in Johnson’s work.

7. Willie and Holcha, 1935

Krake’s interest in folk traditions and mythology had a significant impact on Johnson, and increasingly, he grew interested in “primitivism,” or a return to folk art traditions. Johnson was a great admirer of Edvard Munch and the Expressionists. Chaïm Soutine and Paul Gauguin were major influences as well. Also, at this time, Picasso’s Cubism, borrowing heavily from traditional African art, was changing the European art world.

8. Blind Singer, 1939–1940

With the rise of the Nazis in Europe, Johnson and Krake returned to the United States. Though they preferred the kind of quiet, countryside existence they’d enjoyed in Kerteminde, returning to Johnson’s native South Carolina would not have been a safe place for the interracial couple. They moved to New York City, where Johnson became part of the vibrant art scene of the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson continued to develop his new “primitive” style and became interested in what he called “peoplescapes,” recording the vibrant lives of those around him in the city. In this screenprint, Johnson flattens shapes and uses deep, contrasting colors.

9. Farm Couple at Work, 1942–1944

Johnson’s work became increasingly narrative. It told the stories of Black soldiers during World War II, mine workers, and the movement of Black people from the South to the North as part of the Great Migration. He began his Fighters for Freedom paintings depicting American heroes like George Washington, Harriet Tubman, and Marian Anderson.

10. Three Great Abolitionists: A. Lincoln, F. Douglass, J. Brown, 1945

In 1944, Holcha Krake died of breast cancer. Shortly afterward, Johnson returned to Denmark to be with her family, but suffered a mental breakdown due to advanced syphilis. He was picked up for vagrancy in Oslo and sent back to New York. He spent the rest of his life in Central Islip State Hospital until his death in 1970.

Johnson’s artwork was then caught in a legal limbo as the state sought to extricate itself from responsibility for the work without significant consideration for family claims. The Harmon Foundation took control of much of Johnson’s work and donated over 1,000 pieces to the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum. This undoubtedly saved much of Johnson’s work and preserved his legacy. However, the rightful ownership of Johnson’s paintings has been the subject of dispute.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum showcased Johnson’s Fighters for Freedom series in a 2024 traveling exhibit. Clearly, despite a relatively short artistic career, Johnson’s vast output and varying styles contributed significantly to 20th-century American Art.