Artist in oil, watercolour, pencil, ink, monoprint and collage, born in Blackpool, Lancashire. He studied at Salford School of Art, 1957–9, then Manchester College of Art, 1959–60, teachers including Harry Rutherford and Terry McGlynn. Johnson painted full-time from leaving college. He cited Ben Nicholson and Braque as influences, main themes being “the British coastline, Venice architecture, street markets and glass”. He visited and painted Cornwall for the first time in 1959, continued painting in St Ives most summers, then moved to St Ives from the north in 1986 and to Teignmouth, Devon, in 1991. Among Johnson’s many activities was direction of the first Bolton Festival, 1979; he was artist-in-residence at Manchester Festival, 1980; and at Wigan International Jazz Festival, 1986–7.

Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)


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