Flowers 1945

William H. Johnson made this painting, Flowers, with oil on paper. It shares the simplified forms and bold colors of his paintings made after 1945. Having spent the late 1920s in France, Johnson returned to the United States during the Great Depression and became an art teacher at the Harlem Community Art Center. Supported by the WPA’s Federal Art Project, this center sought to make art accessible to ordinary people and to portray the experiences of African Americans. Johnson’s later paintings turned away from his earlier, more conventional style towards an approach inspired by folk art, especially that of the Black South. His work, in that sense, confronted the high art world that had historically excluded black artists. This later style spoke to both a broader audience and a more personal vision. The art historian might explore Johnson’s connections to other artists of the Harlem Renaissance, to the American art world, and to the history of art education to better understand the forces that shaped his work.