Lee Johnson (art historian)
Encyclopedia
Professor Lee Frederick Johnson, (7 September 1924 – 6 July 2006) was an Art Historian
and specialist in the works of the French nineteenth century painter Eugène Delacroix
.
. During this period, he fortuitously discovered four unattributed Delacroix decorative paintings in the town house of François-Joseph Talma
in Paris.
about the exhibitions in London and Dublin of Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. This was the first of his published works. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1958 under the supervision of Anthony Blunt
and this thesis was to be the basis of his first book, Delacroix, published in 1963—the centenary of the artist’s death. By this time he had been made a lecturer at the Department of Fine Art, Toronto, where he was appointed a professor in 1973.
) which Johnson curated and catalogued. The director of the gallery noted in the preface that the catalogue contained a “considerable amount of material which not only appears for the first time but also corrects previous errors”. He went on to curate and catalogue the Delacroix exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival of 1964 where 201 works were displayed.
in 2000. He had by this time written a number of scholarly books, and his writing had appeared in journals including 45 articles between 1954 and 2003 in The Burlington Magazine, as well as other articles in Apollo, The Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, The Art Bulletin, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Revue du Louvre, Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français and The J.Paul Getty Museum Journal. Many of these articles contained new or clarificatory information.
University of Glasgow
Art Historian Ronald Pickvance, commenting on the work of Lee Johnson, said “The way we comprehend Delacroix will never be the same because of the contribution he has made.”
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and specialist in the works of the French nineteenth century painter Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
.
Early life and scholarship
Born in 1924 in London, Johnson emigrated to the USA in 1940 and served with the US Army in the Pacific. Between 1952 and 1958 he was a student at the Courtauld Institute of ArtCourtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
. During this period, he fortuitously discovered four unattributed Delacroix decorative paintings in the town house of François-Joseph Talma
François-Joseph Talma
François Joseph Talma was a French actor.He was born in Paris. His father, a dentist, moved to London, gave him a good English education. He returned to Paris, where for a year and a half he practised dentistry...
in Paris.
Publications
In 1954 Johnson wrote a five page piece in The Burlington MagazineThe Burlington Magazine
The Burlington Magazine is a monthly academic journal that covers the fine and decorative arts. It is the longest running art journal in the English language and it is a charitable organisation since 1986. It was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included Roger...
about the exhibitions in London and Dublin of Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. This was the first of his published works. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1958 under the supervision of Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
and this thesis was to be the basis of his first book, Delacroix, published in 1963—the centenary of the artist’s death. By this time he had been made a lecturer at the Department of Fine Art, Toronto, where he was appointed a professor in 1973.
Exhibition Curator
The centenary of Delacroix’s death was the occasion of a 1962-63 exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto (renamed in 1966 as the Art Gallery of OntarioArt Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
) which Johnson curated and catalogued. The director of the gallery noted in the preface that the catalogue contained a “considerable amount of material which not only appears for the first time but also corrects previous errors”. He went on to curate and catalogue the Delacroix exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival of 1964 where 201 works were displayed.
The Catalogue
Johnson’s Catalogue of the works of Delacroix is one of his most significant contributions to art scholarship. The first volume of this catalogue was released in 1981, and the final supplement was released in 2002. The entire catalogue consists of six large books, with four supplements. The catalogue was highly acclaimed, two of the volumes winning the Mitchell Prize for the History of Art.Retirement and legacy
After having worked extensively on Delacroix, and to a lesser degree on Géricault, Bonington and Anglo-French artistic links in the 1820s, Johnson retired in 1984. He was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’HonneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 2000. He had by this time written a number of scholarly books, and his writing had appeared in journals including 45 articles between 1954 and 2003 in The Burlington Magazine, as well as other articles in Apollo, The Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, The Art Bulletin, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Revue du Louvre, Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français and The J.Paul Getty Museum Journal. Many of these articles contained new or clarificatory information.
University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
Art Historian Ronald Pickvance, commenting on the work of Lee Johnson, said “The way we comprehend Delacroix will never be the same because of the contribution he has made.”