RICHARD JOHNSON — The luminescent beauty and lyrical quality of Richard S. Johnson’s work is what captivates collectors today. “Old Masters” technical virtuosity, pre-Raphael romanticism, and contemporay expressionism and abstraction, all combine to create his unique works of touching depth and artistry.
Born in Chicago to an artistic family, his earliest reminiscences are of pouring through Charles Dana Gibson, N.C.Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent books on rainy afternoons. While still in grade school he won a scholarship to the presitgious Art Institue of Chicago. He later attended the American Academy of Art and upon graduation began a very succesful career as an illustrator. Perhaps the term that best describes Rick’s work is “Poetic Intimacy”. His sure brush strokes, bold use of color and impasto, and delicate rendering of the human face and form all work together in a harmony that refuses to draw attention to themselves for their technical virtuosity, but rather to draw their viewer into the awareness that they are sharing one, serene, contemplative moment; that the light that pours over the subject’s skin also caresses theirs.