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Ynez Johnston Prints and Multiples

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.
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Artist: Ynez Johnston
'Tribal Coast', Expressionist Woman artist, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim
'Tribal Coast', Expressionist Woman artist, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim

'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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Engraving

UNTITLED

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

DYNASTIC SCENE
DYNASTIC SCENE

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/...

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Previously Available Items
THE COSMIC MOUNTAIN

THE COSMIC MOUNTAIN

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Ynez JohnstonUNTITLED

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H 10 in W 25 in D 1 in

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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
THE TROJAN WAR

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Ynez JohnstonTHE TROJAN WAR

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H 16 in W 24 in

THE TROJAN WAR

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STORM at SEA
STORM at SEA

Ynez JohnstonSTORM at SEA, 1955

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H 19.75 in W 13.25 in

STORM at SEA

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Located in Santa Monica, CA

YNEZ JOHNSTON (b.1920- ) STORM AT SEA c. 1955 mixed deep intaglio, signed and numbered edition 55. 19 ¾ x 13 ¼”. Image good, color...

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1950s Abstract Geometric Ynez Johnston Prints and Multiples

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UNTITLED
UNTITLED

Ynez JohnstonUNTITLED, c. 1950

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H 5.875 in W 7.875 in

UNTITLED

By Ynez Johnston

Located in Santa Monica, CA

YNEZ JOHNSTON (b. 1920) UNTITLED Etching with plate tone. Signed in pencil no. 3/10? in pencil. 5 7/8 x 7 7/8. Very rare early work by Johnston, possibly as e...

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1950s Surrealist Ynez Johnston Prints and Multiples

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UNTITLED
UNTITLED

Ynez JohnstonUNTITLED, c.1950

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H 6.875 in W 9 in

UNTITLED

By Ynez Johnston

Located in Santa Monica, CA

YNEZ JOHNSTON (b. 1920) UNTITLED c. 1950. Etching with plate tone. 6 7/8 x 9. Signed and numbered in pencil 4/20. Rare early work by Johnston. $800 ...

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1950s Surrealist Ynez Johnston Prints and Multiples

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Etching

Ynez Johnston prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Ynez Johnston prints and multiples available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of prints and multiples 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, engraving, lithograph and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Ynez Johnston prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Louis Schanker, Alexander Archipenko, and Michael Hurson. Ynez Johnston prints and multiples 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 $2,850, while the average work can sell for $1,800.