Sargent Claude Johnson

Sargent Claude Johnson (American, 1888-1967)

Johnson studied sculpture at the California School of Fine Arts (1919-23) under early modernist Baniamino Bufano, who introduced him to the evocative power of simplified forms. An introduction to Mexican modernism and Pre-Columbian archeology on a trip to Mexico (1945-65) also proved inspiring. Awarded prizes at Harmon Foundation Exhibitions (1926-35), the 1940 Chicago American Negro Exposition, and two Rosenberg Fellowships (1944; 1949), Johnson was a lifelong Communist who believed in the ability of art to transform social consciousness; this is expressed in his sensitive figurative sculptures.

Important Source Material:

LeFalle-Collins, Lizzetta and Judith Wilson. Sargent Johnson: African-American Modernist. San Francisco: Museum of Modern Art, 1998.

NHS