• Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice Opening Reception

    Friday, June 2, 2023
    5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

    Add to Calendar 06/02/2023 5:30 PM 06/02/2023 7:00 PM America/New_York Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice Opening Reception
    Oil painting on paperboard by artist William H. Johnson. The artwork depicts a collage of different boxers, most are mid-sequence. Each scene has its own solid color behind it creating a collage effect.

    William H. Johnson, Boxers, ca. 1945. Oil on paperboard.
    Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.652.

    Open to the Public | Members: Free, Not-Yet-Members: $10, Students: $5  | Advance registration required by 5 p.m. June 1 

    Register

    5:30 p.m. | Reception 
    6 p.m. | Remarks 
    6:20 p.m. | Exhibition viewing 

    William H. Johnson (1901 – 1970) painted his Fighters for Freedom series in the mid-1940s as a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers, as well as international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. Some of Johnson’s Fighters—Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson, and Mahatma Gandhi—are familiar historical figures; others are less well-known individuals whose determination and sacrifice have been eclipsed over time. Johnson reminds us that individual achievement and commitment to social justice are at the heart of the American story.  

    Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from Art Bridges, Faye and Robert Davidson, and the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation.
    The Rockwell Museum | 111 Cedar Street, Corning, NY 14830
    Oil painting on paperboard by artist William H. Johnson. The artwork depicts a collage of different boxers, most are mid-sequence. Each scene has its own solid color behind it creating a collage effect.

    William H. Johnson, Boxers, ca. 1945. Oil on paperboard.
    Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.652.

    Open to the Public | Members: Free, Not-Yet-Members: $10, Students: $5  | Advance registration required by 5 p.m. June 1 

    Register

    5:30 p.m. | Reception 
    6 p.m. | Remarks 
    6:20 p.m. | Exhibition viewing 

    William H. Johnson (1901 – 1970) painted his Fighters for Freedom series in the mid-1940s as a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, and performers, as well as international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. Some of Johnson’s Fighters—Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson, and Mahatma Gandhi—are familiar historical figures; others are less well-known individuals whose determination and sacrifice have been eclipsed over time. Johnson reminds us that individual achievement and commitment to social justice are at the heart of the American story.  

    Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from Art Bridges, Faye and Robert Davidson, and the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation.