Printmakers You Should Know: Sargent Claude Johnson

When it comes to printmakers you should know, there are quite a few out there who worked in multiple mediums. Indeed, sometimes they're better known for their work as sculptors painters rather than printmakers, but I still think they merit consideration here, because ultimately the arts are interrelated and influence one another. Such is the case with today's printmaker, Sargent Claude Johnson (1887-1967):

Sargent Claude Johnson. Image courtesy of https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sargent-claude-johnson-harlem-everett.html

Originally from Boston, Johnson was the third of six children, and was of mixed racial heritage. His father was Swedish, while his mother was African American and Cherokee. As adults, Johnson's siblings would embrace different parts of their heritage. Some chose to live as white since they were fair enough in complexion to be considered Caucasian, while others felt greater resonance with their Cherokee background. Johnson himself identified most strongly with his African American heritage, and this would shape his entire artistic oeuvre.

The Johnson children were orphaned fairly early in life, first with the death of their father in 1897, then their mother in 1902. They were subsequently sent to Washington, D.C. to live with an uncle an aunt, Sherman William Johnson and May Howard Jackson. The latter was a sculptor specializing in portraits of black subjects, and her work profoundly influenced Johnson. In 1915, Johnson received further exposure to the art world when he moved to San Francisco and attended the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Over the years Johnson studied art at several different schools while working various jobs, including the Worcester Art School, the A.W. Best School of Art, and the California School of Fine Arts.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Chester, 1931, terracotta. Image courtesy of https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/41.2978

As an artist, Johnson worked in both two and three-dimensional media. In terms of materials, his sculpture encompassed wood, metal, and ceramics. Stylistically he was strongly informed by Modernism, with his work defined by strong lines and rounded, abstract forms. Underpinning all of his work, however, was a commitment to celebrating is African American heritage. For him, black physiology and culture was something to be embraced, and its unique characteristics highlighted. Johnson summarized his art in the following quote: "It is the pure American Negro I am concerned with, aiming to show the natural beauty and dignity in that characteristic lip and that characteristic hair, bearing and manner, and I wish to show that beauty not so much to the white man as to the Negro himself." For Johnson, African Americans were his most vital audience. What he wanted was their viewership and validation.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Mask, 1936, copper with paint. Image courtesy of https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/36.3991

Johnson's celebration of African American beauty is particularly evident in his mask relief sculptures. Like many Modernists, Johnson admired the abstract forms of African masks, finding in them a model to emulate for an aesthetic independent of naturalistic representation. Whereas white artists such as Picasso appropriated these forms for their geometric qualities, in Johnson's work facial features such as noses and lips are emphasized, emphasizing the ethnic character of the mask.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Mask (Negro Mother), 1935, copper with paint. Image courtesy of https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/35.3437

Johnson's use of color is also notable in his sculpture. For him, the brown patinas of his surfaces reflected the diversity of skin tones among African Americans, and he wanted that to be on plain view. One reason why he worked in so many different media was to highlight the whole spectrum of complexion among black people, from light tan clay to rich coppers and bronzes.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Forever Free, 1933, wood, gesso, cloth, laquer. Image courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sargent_Johnson.jpg

Sargent Clause Johnson, Sea Forms, 1939, glazed tile. Image courtesy of http://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/sargent-johnson-tiles-the-maritime-museum.html

During the 1930s, Johnson also became involved with the Works Progress Administration. He acted in a variety of roles on different project, from staff artist to supervisor. What we're looking at here is a glazed tile mural he completed for the Aquatic Park Bathhouse, part of the San Francisco Maritime Museum. Executed in different hues of green, the mural is as much about the beauty of form as it is a survey of sea life. The east end of the work remains unfinished because of an artist protest in 1939 over plans to install a private restaurant on the site. Despite being incomplete, it's still a beautiful work, and I would love to see it in person someday. I mean come on, what's not to like about that smiling green fish?

Detail of Sea Forms. Image courtesy of https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/aquatic-park-bathhouse-maritime-museum-johnson-mural-san-francisco-ca/

Another example of Johnson's FAP work is this carved screen from 1937. Made from redwood and highlighted with gilding, this piece was designed as a pipe organ screen for the California School of the Blind. The school has since relocated, but nowadays this work belongs to the Huntington Library. I can only imagine the warmth that this piece emanates in person, between the rich redwood and scintillating gilding.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Screen for the California School of the Blind, 1937, redwood with gilding. Image courtesy of http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/arts/design/art-by-sargent-johnson-berkeleys-loss-is-museums-gain.html

Like his sculpture, Johnson's prints highlight his love of Modernist aesthetics and African American heritage. His prints are primarily lithographs, though he also worked in etching. In prints such as Singing Saints, Johnson uses distilled, rounded forms to emphasize the monumentality of his subject matter, giving the singers he depicts a sense of dignity and gravitas. The repetition of curved lines in the work provide a sense of fluidity, while details such as the folds in the man's shirt and the strings on his guitar further unifies the composition and imply the figure's connection to the music being played.

Sargent Clause Johnson, Singing Saints, 1940, lithograph. Image courtesy of https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory/detail/BEPA101

Other prints such as Dorothy C. have an even more pronounced  angular and abstract character, with the subject dissolving into a field of shapes, lines, and values.

Sargent Claude Johnson, Dorothy C., ca. 1938, lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of https://art.famsf.org/sargent-claude-johnson/dorothy-c-l3461966

Lenox Avenue hearkens back to some of the masks we looked at earlier, with Johnson demarcating the subject's African American features through clean, legible linework.

Sargent Clause Johnson, Lenox Avenue, ca. 1938, lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/lenox-avenue-11521

Throughout his career, Johnson took pride in his African American heritage, and wanted his fellow black viewers to have a similar experience through his art. He is definitely someone you should know.

Learn more here:

https://americanart.si.edu/artist/sargent-johnson-2484

https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Sargent_Johnson

https://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/sargentclaudejohnson.htm

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sargent-Johnson