Lester JohnsonNew York Dancers, Lithograph by Lester Johnson1980
1980
About the Item
- Creator:Lester Johnson (1919 - 2010, American)
- Creation Year:1980
- Dimensions:Height: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Long Island City, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4664120892
Lester Johnson
A New York artist, known as a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, Lester Johnson was born to a large Lutheran family in Minneapolis. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and the St. Paul Art School. There, he was introduced to Hans Hofmann's teaching approach, particularly the push and pull effects of form and color by St. Paul teachers Alexander Masley and Cameron Booth, both of whom had studied with Hofmann in Munich. After further study at the Chicago Art Institute, Johnson moved to New York City in 1947 and became one of the first downtown loft-dwellers. He shared a lower East Side studio with Larry Rivers and attended some of Hofmann's New York classes. Rents were cheap, but Johnson was broke much of the time as he tried to support his painting through a variety of part-time jobs, including teaching art. In 1950, he and realist figurative painter Philip Pearlstein shared studio space. Lester's wife, Jo, had introduced the two artists at a time when she and Pearlstein were studying art history at New York University.
Johnson's various studios, on the Bowery and elsewhere, were always one flight up with a view of Manhattan's active street life. No wonder, for over 50 years, street scenes have been a dominant part of his art. Johnson adopted the working techniques of action painting, which meant he used a great deal of paint. A tube of oil paint might be expended in seconds as he, like Pollock, physically projected himself into the work. The images that Johnson produced were not decorative, but stubbornly confrontational, oversize, brooding, thickly encrusted, scarred surfaces that were alive with recognizable objects and figures. Even today, few realize how radical it was for Johnson to depict a recognizable subject in an adamantly pro-abstract-expressionist climate. Sculptor George Segal recalled, "The Abstract Expressionists were legislating any reference to the physical world totally out of art. This was outrageous to us." The rebellion came naturally to Lester Johnson, and he remained tenaciously outside the mainstream. Nonetheless, he produced a body of work that influenced several generations of younger painters and confounded an art establishment in need of neat categorization. He remains one of the few painters whose work holds significance for both abstract and figurative artists. Johnson's animated men and women, with all their nervous energy, yield themselves only gradually to analysis and will no doubt be reinterpreted for many years to come.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Long Island City, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Plates of LightBy Grace Graupe-PillardLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Grace Graupe-Pillard, American Title: Plates of Light Year: 1991 Medium: Cut-out Silhouette Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 30/30 Size: 45 x 33 in. (114.3 ...Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Stencil
- Jacomo, Monte Carlo Open, Lithograph Poster by Pierre Fix-MasseauBy Pierre Fix-MasseauLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Pierre Fix-Masseau, French (1905 - 1994) Title: Jacomo, Monte Carlo Open Year: 1985 Medium: Lithograph Poster, signed in pen Image Size: 30 x 21 inches Size: 33 x 24 in. (83....Category
1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Tennis, Lithograph by Beryl CookBy Beryl CookLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Beryl Cook, British (1927 - 2008) Title: Tennis Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 300 Size: 34 in. x 27 in. (86.36 cm x 68.58 cm)Category
1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Move V, Modern Dance Lithograph by Helene GuetaryBy Helene GuetaryLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Helene Guetary, French/American (1957 - ) Title: Move V Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 200, HC Image Size: 32 x 23 inches Size: 38 in. x 25.5 in. ...Category
1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- My Favorite Doll, Lithograph by Donna SummerBy Donna SummerLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Donna Summer, American (1948 - 2012) Title: My Favorite Doll Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 64/300 Size: 33 x 25 in. (83.82 x 63.5 cm)Category
1980s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Knees, Lithograph by Charles Roy Purcell 1973By Roy PurcellLocated in Long Island City, NYArtist: Charles Roy Purcell, American (1946 - 2008) Title: Knees Year: 1973 Medium: Lithograph, signed in pencil Edition: AP Paper Size: 26 x 40 in. (66.04 x 101.6 cm)Category
1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Lotus Pool - Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, ChineseBy Yue MinjunLocated in Zug, CHYue Minjun, Lotus Pool Lithograph in color on wove paper “BFK Rives” Edition of 130 120 x 80 cm (47.2 x 31.4 in) Stamped Signature, numbered in Roman numerals In mint condition, as a...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Sheep Herd - Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, ChineseBy Yue MinjunLocated in Zug, CHYue Minjun, Sheep Herd Lithograph Edition of 130 120 x 80 cm (47.2 x 31.5 in) Stamped Signature, numbered in Roman numerals In mint condition, as acquired...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Blue Face from the Brushstroke Figures SeriesBy Roy LichtensteinLocated in Miami, FLLithograph, waxtype woodcut and screenprint on 638-g/m cold-pressed Saunders Waterford Paper. From the "Brushstroke Figures" series, 1989. Hand signed rf Lichtenstein, dated ('89) a...Category
1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsLithograph, Screen, Woodcut
- Rick, from: Men in the Cities - Lithograph - American Pop ArtBy Robert LongoLocated in London, GBROBERT LONGO (born 1953) 1953 Brooklyn, New York (American) Title: Rick, from Men in the Cities, 1994 Technique: Original Hand Signed, Inscribed, and Numbered Lithograph on Arches ...Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Arab Game - Photolithograph by Bettino Craxi - 1990sBy Bettino CraxiLocated in Roma, ITArab Game is an original photolithograph realized in the 1990s by the Italian politician Bettino Craxi. Hand-signed in marker on the lower right. Artist's proof. Very good conditio...Category
1990s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Face - Lithograph on Paper by Henry Maurice - 1970sLocated in Roma, ITFace is a modern artwork realized by Maurice Henry in 1970s. Mixed colored lithograph. Hand signed and numbered on the lower margin. Edition of 57/100...Category
1970s Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Chryssa’s 1962 Neon Sculpture Was Way ahead of the Art-World Curve
By working with lettering, neon and Pop imagery, Chryssa pioneered several postmodern themes at a time when most male artists detested commercial mediums.
7 Exciting Works by Female Artists from the RoGallery Auction
Prints by these modern and contemporary visionaries are relatively affordable — for now.