Posted by: C. Harrison/March 15, 2016

AN ARTISAN’S LEGECY

William H. Johnson

Queens Hospital Center celebrated the work and legacy of William H. Johnson, a great American artists of the 20th century. Honored Guess speaker Dennis M. Walcott, former Chancellor of New York City Department of Education. New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Education and Head of New York Chapter of the Urban League. Currently Professor at the Graduate School of Social Services at Fordham University. Celebrated also was the Unsung Hero Awards, which was presented by Gertie Brown and Sheila Robinson. Vanvalor Parsard, was Master of Ceremonies, Welcoming Remarks presented by Dona Green and Reflections on Black History was done by Albert Willingham. The Davore Dance Center did the opening and close dance performance and Chorus was lead by Denise Bertrand.

William Johnson was “an African American from the rural South, who overcame poverty, racial prejudice and a grade school education to become one of the country’s leading artists.” He left his native south in 1918, to study at the National Academy of Design in New York. Thereafter, Johnson traveled to Europe; while there he flourished got married to a Danish wife artist. Holcha Krake, and made hundreds of art work before returning to the United States and continue to paint. After his wife’s death and the end of World War 11, Johnson returned to Europe and continued his artistry. Falling ill in Norway, the artist was returned to the United States in 1947 and spent the rest of his life (23-years) in a mental hospital in Central Islip, NY, where he died in 1970.  Johnson was primarily known  for his majestic Scandinavian landscape and his witty and poignant scenes of African Americans daily life.

                                                              Dennis Walcott  &  C. Harrison