U.S. Postal Service: 'William H Johnson - 11th in American Treasures Series' Issued at Morgan State University April 11, 2012

First Day of Issue: April 11, 2012 | Baltimore, MD 21233 One of the country’s foremost African-American artists, William H. Johnson (1901-1970) will be recognized as a major figure in 20th-century American art. Known for his colorful, folk-inspired scenes of African-American daily life as well as his dramatic Scandinavian landscapes, Johnson is recognized on the 11th issuance in the American Treasures series with a still-life painting entitled Flowers. An oil-on-plywood painting dated 1939-1940, Flowers depicts a vase of boldly rendered, brightly colored blooms on a small red table. The two-dimensional, consciously “naive” style in which Flowers was painted was one of the many techniques of modernist abstraction and “primitive” art adapted by Johnson during his career. The painting, a gift of the Harmon Foundation, belongs to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. As a child, he practiced drawing by copying comic strips from the newspaper. At the age of 17 he went to live with his uncle in Harlem. He worked at a variety of jobs to save money for tuition at the prestigious National Academy of Design in New York City. This stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

 

The event will take place at Morgan State University (MSU), as the exhibition stops there as part of its 10 city tour.  The exhibition is an opportunity to share some of the artist's work and treasured collection from the Historically Black College, MSU who owns the featured 20 portraits, with a broad audience.