I have written before about E. Harper Johnson, but at the time I knew only a little about him. The book-jacket biography above tells a little more than that, but more of what I know now comes from Mr. Johnson's granddaughter Kisha, who has generously provided more information on him in her comments on my original article.
E. Harper Johnson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1920s. He was a painter, muralist, cartoonist, and illustrator who lived and worked in New York, Africa, and I believe the Arabian Peninsula. His art training came at the American Academy, the National Academy, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Mr. Johnson's illustrations and cartoons appeared in newspapers, magazines, and more than 100 books. The illustrations and book-jacket biography above are from The Story of George Washington Carver by Arna Bontemps (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1954). Like the subject and the illustrator of his book, Arna Bontemps (1902-1973) was a black southerner and a man of great accomplishment.
Harper Johnson was married to Mildred Anita Johnson and to Salma Tahira Malik (1928-1979). He died on March 24, 2016. I hope to find more on E. Harper Johnson, his life, and his work. I invite and welcome comments and email messages.
Original text copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley
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ReplyDeleteI don't know if this will help but during my research i found out he used to write for ebony magazine and negro digest at that time and did several paintings depicting political struggles in the colonial era and hardships faced by Africans in those regions e.g shooting of crowd opposite norfolk hotel
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Abwao,
DeleteThank you for the additional information. With comments like yours, eventually we will have a fuller biography of E. Harper Johnson.
TH
He illustrated for the Bookshelf for Boys and Girls, for example creating images for short biographies of Sun Yat-sen, Hellen Keller, Woodrow Wilson, Luther Burbank, Ghandi,and many others. (As I type this, I wonder at the diversity of that list.) I loved Johnson's memorable pictures of Sun Yat-sen escaping in a fish basket and Harriet Tubman confuddling a slave catcher with her live chickens.
ReplyDeleteI'm a freelance artist who was recently given the task of retracing and replicate one of his illustrations. I was fascinated by his paintings and begun searching a bit. Even with all my skills and all the technology i can barely cover 1/10 of this man's talent. Thanks for writing about him
ReplyDeleteI’ve known DR. Harper Johnson personally during several visits to Egypt, through my father. He was then married to Salma, later we met his third wife, not mentioned here but I believe she was German, they had a son, Tarek.
ReplyDeleteWe had many interesting conversations and he showed us photographs of his life size painting of the Shah of Iran.
From website "Alabama Authors":
ReplyDeleteJOHNSON, EUGENE HARPER, 1916-2016
Biography;
Illustrator; painter; violinist. Born– Birmingham, July 6, 1916. Parents–James and Ida Wade Johnson. Married– Mildred Anita Daniels. Children– three. Married– Sahira Tamira Malik. Education– Birmingham schools; studied music and art in France at the Studio of Gene Paul Lawrence and at the Academie Julian; studied at the Art Institute of Chicago; Pratt Institute; and the National Academy School of Fine Arts in New York. Worked as an assistant to Beauford and Joseph Delaney, who painted WPA murals in New York City during the Great Depression. Served in US Army Special Services, WWII. Began his career as a violinist; performed internationally in Europe and Africa. After he injured his wrist in a horseback riding accident, he turned to art as a career; worked as an illustrator and comic-strip artist; illustrated more than 200 books and has paintings hung in museums and galleries. Contributed articles to many journals and books. Lived in Africa the latter part of his life; after 1993 concentrated on painting historic events of Oman. Granted Omani citizenship. Died March 18, 2016.
Sources;
Illustrators of Books for Young People, 2nd ed.
Something about the Author online.
Pulp Artists website
Publications;
Kenny. New York: Holt, 1957.
Piankhy the Great. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1962.
Dear Mr. Green,
DeleteIt looks like it's time for an update on what I have written about E. Harper Johnson. I'm glad that there is finally some good and full information on him out there in the world. Thanks for writing.
TH