About

J. Theodore Johnson (1902-1963) is American-born painter of portraits in oils and pastels, and landscapes in oils and watercolors in the classical tradition of 20th century American Realism. Active in Chicago, New York, Minneapolis and San José California. 

The formative years (1902-1925)

1902 – Born in in Oregon, Illinois, the second son of wood carver Theodore Johnson and Jennie Lindstrom Johnson, both second generation Swedish-Americans. 

1920-1925 – As a student at the Art Institute of Chicago, Johnson, followed the classical tradition of several years of academic life drawing with J. Wellington Reynolds (advanced life, head life, and portrait classes) before painting with Leon Kroll and Leopold Seyffert.  

1924 – Awarded the John H. Vanderpoel Scholarship and the American Traveling Scholarship.

1925 – Awarded the Bryan Lathrop European Scholarship and married Mary Trankla, a fellow classmate and frequent model for Leon Kroll.  They divorced in 1931. 

-Instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and again in 1928-29.

Chicago and Paris (1925-1931)

1925-26 – Studies with André Lhote at La Grande Chaumière in Paris and befriends Aristide Maillol.  Paints oil and watercolor landscapes near Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Côte Vermeille of the Mediterranean Sea of Southern France. 

1928 – Solo exhibitions at The Arts Club of Chicago (March) and Carson - Pirie Scott &Co. (December) 

- Awarded the 1st Frank G. Logan Medal (Painting) 

- Awarded the 1st Frank G. Logan Medal (Landscape)

-  Joseph N. Eisendrath Prize Award (Nude)

- Awarded 1st Prize Swedish Artists (Composition)

- American Artist Award (Composition)

- Popular Prize Swedish Artists 

- Chicago Artist(Portrait Painting)

- Instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and again in 1929

 1929–  Awarded a Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. 

- Paints numerous private commissioned portraits in Chicago. 

- Exhibits at The Little Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

- Travels to Paris, France, and established himself in a studio at 3, rue Henri Regnault in Montparnasse quarter of Paris where, in addition to several nudes, he did a series of large oils of the concierge of the building, Eugène Bourdon, and his 16 year old daughter, Madeleine (Léline, The Girl with Dominoes, Eugène Bourdon ). Traveled around Europe to study at first hand the paintings of the Old Masters (he greatly admired the Piero della Francesca frescoes at Arezzo) and around provincial France where he executed oil (e.g. Uzerche 1931) and watercolor townscapes.  Returned to the United States in 1931.

1930’s: the Great Depression, New York, and several Murals

1931 - J. Theodore and Barbara Salmon marry on December 21 and eventually take a studio on West 67th Street near the studios of Paul Trebilcock and the Leopold Seyffert. Their circle of artist friends included Ivan Albright. 

- Exhibits at Marie Sterner Gallery in December (Paintings)

1935 – Portraits and a mural for Western State Teachers College at Macomb, Illinois. 

1936 – Birth of a son John Theodore Johnson, Jr. on June 8th

1937 – Summered with family in Oregon, Illinois, and Dorset, Vermont where he painted oil on canvas the large (18 ft. x 11 ft.) mural Huckleberry Festival for the Garden City Post Office and installed November 1937.   

Johnson also painted a mural representing Father Jacques Marquette, 1674 for the Morgan Park Post Office (Illinois).

1938 –  Completed the cartoons for four murals (two 9’ x 4’ and two 11’ x 4’, oil on canvas) for the Oak Park Post Office in Illinois, just outside of Chicago: The Founding of Fort Crèvecoeur; LaSalle’s Search for Tonti 1680; The “Pioneer,” First Train to Oak Ridge (Oak Park); and The” Osceola,” First Shipment of Wheat from Chicago, 1839. 

- Acquired a Leica camera, explored landscapes and portraiture with a camera; and developed, enlarged, and printed his photographs.  Continued to paint oil landscapes of farms and hills near Dorset, Vermont, watercolors with Chinese white Oregon, Illinois. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota (1938-1945)

1938 – Named Head of the Department of Painting, Minneapolis School of Art.  Head of Painting till 1945 when he moves to San Jose.

 1941 - Second son Peter A. Johnson born December 13th. 

- Johnson’s father Theodore Johnson Senior died shortly thereafter, and Johnson took up his father’s tools to carve out of walnut seven figurative sculptures. Oil and pastel portraits, still-lifes, oil landscapes, and a large, powerful painting of a Swedish-American farmer, Ed Sorenson.

The California Years (1945-1963)

1945 - Assistant, Associate and then Professor Art, Art Department, San Jose State College, 1945-1963 where, within the post-war context of Action Painting and Abstract Expressionism, Johnson maintained a certain classical tradition in the life drawing and painting courses he conducted. At San Jose State College he did a number ofpastel portraits as demonstrations and two large oil paintings:  Clown and Circus Performer and Girl in White. In 1957, he also did three-quarter length oil portraits in academic attire of former President of San Jose State College and President John L. T. Wahlquist.

- Solo Exhibition at the San Jose State College Art Department, November 12-16

1947 -  1st Prize 18th annual state-wide Art Exhibition in Santa Cruz, California, January 26-February 9 for Ed Sorenson.

- Explores landscape and portrait photography.

1948 - 3 Person Exhibition:  oils and watercolors by J. Theodore Johnson (16 works), watercolors by Howard Cook, and oils by Victor Laks, Rotunda Gallery, City of Paris (San Francisco), August 11- September 4

1950’s - In the words of Leopold Seyffert quoted in the announcement of the 1953 exhibition of 50 watercolors at Denison University, “a painter’s painter,” Johnson pulled brilliant watercolors out of unlikely subjects, rendering in dynamic abstract forms and saturated colors a new, fresh, and exciting realism. Johnson also found challenges in painting in a fresh manner “picturesque” subjects such as seascapes, orchards in bloom and creek scenes.  

1951 -   25 Year Retrospective of J. Theodore Johnson and John Mottram, Reserve Book Room,  San Jose State College, October 15- November 5.

1953 -  “The Watercolors of J. Theodore Johnson, Cupertino, California,” Doane Art Gallery, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, December(50 paintings).

1963 -  J. Theodore Johnson died on November 2, 1963 and is buried in Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, California.

Posthumous Exhibitions

1965 - “The Johnson-Reitzel Memorial Show,” San Jose State College, February-March. 

1968- “Retrospective showing of watercolors by J. Theodore Johnson, Park’s Art Gallery, 322 Town and Country Village, San Jose, (April)

1975- “J. Theodore Johnson: (oils, watercolors, and drawings), Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas 

1989 - “Three Generations of Johnsons,” Locust Gallery, Lawrence, Kansas (drawings and pastels by J. Theodore Johnson, life drawings by J. Theodore Johnson, Jr., and recent works by Stephen Theodore Johnson).

Selected Bibliography

Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide, compiled and written by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Illinois American Guide Series. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1939.

Who’s Who in American Art. Washington, D.C., The American Federation of Arts, 1940.

Who was Who in America, Volume IV (1961-1968). Chicago: Marquis-Who’s Who, Inc., 1968.

Couch, Anna Pavloff Partch, Acorns and Oaks: A Look at contemporary Illustrators and their Artistic Lineage. M.A. thesis, Illustration, Graduate School of Syracuse University. August, 1998.  See Vol. 2, ‘John Theodore Johnson, John Theodore Johnson, Jr. (Ted), Stephen Johnson,” 318-334.

Gray, Mary Lackritz, A Guide to Chicago’s Murals.  Chicago and London: The U. of Chicago Press, 2001. Father Jacques Marquette,1769 (Morgan Park Post Office, Chicago Murals) 186-187; La Salle’s Search for Tonti, 1680; The Founding of Fort Crevecoeur; The “Pionneer,” First Train to Oak Ridge (Oak Park): The“Osceola,” First shipment of Wheat from Chicago, 1839 (Oak Park Post Office),  328-329.

Additional Links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Theodore_Johnson
• http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/j-theodore-johnson/
• http://www.artnet.com/artists/j-theodore-johnson/past-auction-results
• http://www.americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=11500

Artistic legacy

Wayne Thiebault, Artist – Theibault was an art student in one of Johnson’s drawing classes just after the war.

Richard Tansey, PhD, Art Historian and Professor at San Jose State College -  Colleague and friend, Tansey much admired Johnson’s painting and knowledge of the history of art. 

Edward Navone – Former Student, Artist and Professor of Art (BFA and MFA San Jose State College).  Slide librarian for Dr. Tansey and for whom Johnson served as his prized and formative mentor. Professor at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas, from 1966 to 2008 where he taught life drawing, painting, and the history of art at Washburn University from 1966 to 2008. 

John Theodore Johnson Jr. – Son and Professor Emeritus and Artist (Ph.D. U. of Wisconsin-Madison, 1964; M.A. U. Wisconsin-Madison, 1961; Fulbright U. Poitiers France, 1958-1960; B.A. San Jose State College, 1958.)  Specializes in 19th- and 20th-century poetry, Proust, and interrelations of literature and the visual arts. He has received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, Mortar Board's recognition as an Outstanding Educator at the University of Kansas, and in 1992, the Senior Class H.O.P.E. award to Honor an Outstanding Progressive Educator. Professor Johnson has published extensively on Proust and is preparing a book on Proust and Monet.

Stephen T. Johnson – Grandson, Artist, Author and Illustrator (BFA in painting and illustration, University of Kansas, 1987. Nationally published and award-winning author and illustrator of numerous children’s books as well as an artist with public artworks nationwide (NYC, LA, TX, KS) and exhibits in museum and gallery exhibitions.