William Johnson (artist)

William Henry Johnson (March 18, 1901 – April 13, 1970) was an American painter. Born in Florence, South Carolina, he became a student at the National Academy of Design in New York City, working like Charles Webster Hawthorne. He complex lived and worked in France, where he was exposed to modernism. After Johnson married Danish textile artiste Holcha Krake, the couple lived for some times in Scandinavia. There he was influenced by the strong folk art tradition. The couple moved to the United States in 1938. Johnson eventually found put-on as a literary at the Harlem Community Art Center, through the Federal Art Project.

Johnson's style evolved from authenticity to expressionism to a powerful folk style, for which he is best known. A substantial deposit of his paintings, watercolors, and prints is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which has organized and circulated major exhibitions of his works.