Dec 3, 2025 — Continuing
William H. Johnson (1901–1970), one of the most important African-American artists of his generation, was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina. As a boy he copied comics from the local newspaper and worked a series of jobs to help support his family. By seventeen he had saved enough to move to New York, where he enrolled at the National Academy of Design while working as a hotel porter, cook, and stevedore. There he studied with Impressionist Charles Hawthorne, who recognized his potential and helped fund Johnson’s first trip abroad.
Johnson’s artistic journey took him across Europe and North Africa beginning in the mid-1920s. He settled in Paris, where he absorbed French Post-Impressionist and modernist influences, experimenting with vivid color and expressive brushwork. While working in southern France, he met Danish artist Holcha Krake. They married in 1930 and made their home in Kerteminde, Denmark. The couple also spent time in Norway, where they exhibited together and met Edvard Munch, an artist Johnson greatly admired. Critically and commercially successful, the two returned to the United States just ahead of World War II, settling in New York. where Johnson developed the bold, narrative style for which he is best known.
The Greenville County Museum of Art holds the largest collection of Johnson’s paintings outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum. These holdings trace Johnson’s evolution from his South Carolina roots to his international career. This current installation features forty-two works, including oil paintings, watercolors, prints, and drawings.