Ynez Johnston Art
American, 1920-2019
Frances Ynez Johnston (May 12, 1920 – 2019) was an American painter, sculptor, printmaker and educator. Her artwork is modernist and abstract with a narrative of imaginative lands or creatures, and often featuring collage.
Johnston was born on May 12, 1920, in Berkeley, California. She attended University of California, Berkeley to study with Worth Ryder and received her bachelor of fine arts in 1941. She traveled to Mexico in the early 1940s to continue her studies, returning to Berkeley in 1943, earning her Masters of Fine Arts in 1946.
In 1960 she married novelist and poet John Berry. In the years following she produced prints through the Tamarind Lithography Workshop.
Johnston started teaching art classes at various universities and colleges in 1950 and ended teaching in 1980.[8] She began at University of California, Berkeley (1950–1951) and then continued her teaching career at Colorado Springs Fine Art Center (1954–1955), Chouinard Art Institute (1956), California State College (1966–1967, 1969, 1973), the University of Jerusalem (1967), and Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design (1978–1980).
Her work is featured in various permanent collections including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Spencer Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Fullerton College, the McNay Art Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and others.
Johnston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952 for fine art, which allowed her travel to Italy. In 1955–1956 she was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant for painting and printmaking, and was awarded the National Endowment for the Art (NEA) grant in 1976 and 1986.
In addition to her intricate prints and paintings, Johnston also created three dimensional pieces in collaboration with her husband and with ceramic sculptor Adam Mekler.
Her watercolors, oils and etchings of the 1950s and 1960s were rich with complex imagery, and displayed a disciplined, restrained use of color. In later mixed-media pieces, she examined the tactile qualities of surface. Her paintings incorporated soil, acrylic, dyes, encaustic on cloth, canvas, and raw silk. Composite forms suggest ambiguous architectural, human, animal and plant shapes. Johnston cited Persian and Indian miniatures as influences but also drew inspiration from European abstract artists Matisse, Miro, Klee and Picasso.
Ynez Johnston died in 2019 in Los Angeles, California.to
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Artist: Ynez Johnston
Ynez Johnston Abstract Watercolor & Gouache Painting, 1985, 20th Century Modern
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Denver, CO
This striking 1985 abstract painting by celebrated Colorado Springs artist Ynez Johnston (American, 1920–2019) exemplifies her imaginative approach to modernist abstraction. Executed...
Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Ynez Johnston Art
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache
UNTITLED
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Portland, ME
Johnston, Ynez. UNTITLED. Etching, not dated (but likely 1950s). Edition of 20, signed in pencil and numbered 4/20. 6 7/8 x 9 inches (plate), 8 x 10 5/8 inches (sheet). In excellent ...
Category
1950s Ynez Johnston Art
Materials
Etching
$1,400
'Tribal Coast', Expressionist Woman artist, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Ynez Johnston' (American, b. 1920) and dated 1964; additionally inscribed 'imp' lower right, titled lower center 'Tribal Coast' with number and limitation, 198/2...
Category
1960s Ynez Johnston Art
Materials
Paper, Engraving
DYNASTIC SCENE
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Portland, ME
Johnston, Ynez (American, 1920-2019). DYNASTIC SCENE. Colored etching, not dated. Edition of 50, numbered, titled, and signed in pencil. 11 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches (Plate), 16 1/2 x 12 3/...
Category
Mid-20th Century Ynez Johnston Art
Materials
Etching
"HUNTING SCENE II" Lithograph by Ynez Johnston
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Pasadena, CA
"Hunting Scene II," a lithograph by American artist Ynez Johnston created in 1964, is part of a series published by the International Graphic Arts Society (IGAS) in September 1965. L...
Category
1960s Modern Ynez Johnston Art
Materials
Paper
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Previously Available Items
THE COSMIC MOUNTAIN
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Johnston, Ynez. THE COSMIC MOUNTAIN. Etching in colors printed from two plates, 1981. Edition of 100, numbered 64/100, titled, signed, and dated, all in pencil. 18 x 11 3/4 inches (o...
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Johnston, Ynez (American, 1920-2019). UNTITLED. Color woodcut, not dated. Edition size, if any, not known. Inscriibed "Trial Proof" in the left margin, and signed in pencil in the lo...
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THE TROJAN WAR
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Santa Monica, CA
YNEZ JOHNSTON (b. 1920 - )
THE TROJAN WAR c. 1954
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THE SPANISH MAIN
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Portland, ME
Johnston, Ynez (American, born 1920). THE SPANISH MAIN. Etching and aquatint in colors, 1963. Edition of 35, signed, titled, numbered 1/35 and dated, all in pencil. Printed on laid p...
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By Ynez Johnston
Located in Denver, CO
Mixed media on paper. Presented in a custom frame, outer dimensions measure 21 ¼ x 26 ¾ x ¾ inches. Image size is 13 ¼ x 19 ¼ inches.
A native of Berkeley, Johnston's artistic talent received encouragement from her family who enrolled her in Saturday classes at the California College of Arts in Oakland with excursions to the de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. In 1941 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and the Bertha B. Taussig Memorial Award for the outstanding graduate in fine arts. Her instructors Worth Ryder, Erle Lorain and Margaret...
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STORM at SEA
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UNTITLED c. 1950. Etching with plate tone. 6 7/8 x 9. Signed and
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Ynez Johnston art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Ynez Johnston art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of pink and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ynez Johnston in etching, paper, engraving and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Ynez Johnston art, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Leonard Edmondson, August Mosca, and Nancy Genn. Ynez Johnston art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,100 and tops out at $9,500, while the average work can sell for $1,800.