Sargent Claude Johnson
Encyclopedia
Sargent Claude Johnson was one of the first California
n African-American artists to achieve a national reputation. He was known for Abstract Figurative and Early Modern styles. He was a painter, potter, ceramist, printmaker, graphic artist, sculptor, and carver. He worked with a variety of media, including ceramic
, clay, oil, stone, terra-cotta, watercolor, and wood. He was in the Communist Party
for most of his life.
Sargent Johnson was the third of six children, born to a father of Swedish descent and mother of African American and Cherokee
ancestry. They were orphaned at a young age and went to live with their uncle, Sherman Jackson Williams and his wife, May Howard Jackson. May was a famous black sculptress specializing in negro themes and undoubtedly she influenced Sargent Johnson at an early age.
In 1915, Sargent Johnson moved to the San Francisco Bay
area. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which had an influence on the California art movement, took place shortly after his move. The same year, Sargent Johnson married Pearl Lawson and began studying at the A. W. Best School of Art. He attended the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute
) from 1919 to 1923, where his teachers included the sculptors Beniamino Bufano
and Ralph Stackpole
.
Sargent Johnson began showing his work with the Harmon Foundation
of New York in 1926. Through this distinguished foundation that supported African American art, he exhibited many of his pieces and became locally and then nationally known. He won numerous awards during his time with the Harmon Foundation. In the late 1930s, Sargent Johnson commissioned his work with the Federal Arts Project (FAP). As a member of the bohemian
San Francisco Bay community and influenced by the New Negro
Movement, Sargent Johnson's early work focused on racial identity. According to Johnson, "Negroes are a colorful race; they call for an art as colorful as they can be made." Beginning in 1945, and continuing through 1965, Sargent Johnson made a number of trips to Oaxaca
and Southern Mexico
and started incorporating the people and culture, particularly archeology, into his work. Other subjects included African American figures, animals, and Native Americans.
auctioned Sargent Claude Johnson’s Untitled (Standing Woman), a painted terra cotta sculpture, circa 1933-35, for $52,800—an auction record for the artist.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n African-American artists to achieve a national reputation. He was known for Abstract Figurative and Early Modern styles. He was a painter, potter, ceramist, printmaker, graphic artist, sculptor, and carver. He worked with a variety of media, including ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
, clay, oil, stone, terra-cotta, watercolor, and wood. He was in the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
for most of his life.
Sargent Johnson was the third of six children, born to a father of Swedish descent and mother of African American and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
ancestry. They were orphaned at a young age and went to live with their uncle, Sherman Jackson Williams and his wife, May Howard Jackson. May was a famous black sculptress specializing in negro themes and undoubtedly she influenced Sargent Johnson at an early age.
In 1915, Sargent Johnson moved to the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
area. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which had an influence on the California art movement, took place shortly after his move. The same year, Sargent Johnson married Pearl Lawson and began studying at the A. W. Best School of Art. He attended the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
) from 1919 to 1923, where his teachers included the sculptors Beniamino Bufano
Benny Bufano
Beniamino Benvenuto Bufano was a California-based Italian American sculptor, best known for his large-scale monuments, usually of granite. His modernist work often featured smoothly rounded animals and relatively simple shapes.-Biography:Bufano was born in San Fele, Italy. He moved with his...
and Ralph Stackpole
Ralph Stackpole
Ralph Ward Stackpole was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was involved in the art and causes of social realism, especially during the Great Depression, when he was part of the Federal Art Project...
.
Sargent Johnson began showing his work with the Harmon Foundation
Harmon Foundation
The Harmon Foundation was established in 1922 by William E. Harmon. It served as a large scale patron of African American art and helped gain recognition for African American artists who otherwise would have remained largely unknown. Mary B. Brady was the director of the foundation from 1922 until...
of New York in 1926. Through this distinguished foundation that supported African American art, he exhibited many of his pieces and became locally and then nationally known. He won numerous awards during his time with the Harmon Foundation. In the late 1930s, Sargent Johnson commissioned his work with the Federal Arts Project (FAP). As a member of the bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
San Francisco Bay community and influenced by the New Negro
New Negro
New Negro is a term popularized during the Harlem Renaissance implying a more outspoken advocacy of dignity and a refusal to submit quietly to the practices and laws of Jim Crow racial segregation...
Movement, Sargent Johnson's early work focused on racial identity. According to Johnson, "Negroes are a colorful race; they call for an art as colorful as they can be made." Beginning in 1945, and continuing through 1965, Sargent Johnson made a number of trips to Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
and Southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and started incorporating the people and culture, particularly archeology, into his work. Other subjects included African American figures, animals, and Native Americans.
Auction Records
On February 23, 2010, Swann GalleriesSwann Galleries
Swann Galleries is a New York auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house....
auctioned Sargent Claude Johnson’s Untitled (Standing Woman), a painted terra cotta sculpture, circa 1933-35, for $52,800—an auction record for the artist.