LeRoy Johnson (artist) facts for kids

Leroy Johnson (born 1937 – died July 8, 2022) was an amazing African American artist. He mostly taught himself art! Leroy was famous for using everyday objects he found to make his art. He created paintings, sculptures, and collages that showed the history of African Americans and his own life growing up in Philadelphia.

Leroy Johnson's Early Life and Learning

Leroy Johnson was born in 1937 in Eastwick, a part of Southwest Philadelphia. His dad worked as a janitor. When Leroy was about 7 or 8, he read a book called “Native Son” by Richard Wright. He asked his mom who wrote it, and she said it was a "colored man." Leroy then felt a strong feeling that he would become an artist.

As a kid, he loved drawing and reading. He would copy cartoons from his favorite artists like Will Eisner and Milton Caniff. He also looked at magazines like Life, Ebony, and Jet. He often visited the Free Library of Philadelphia.

High School and Art Groups

Leroy went to John Bartram High School and took commercial art classes. He even won an award for a sculpture! While at Bartram, he and four friends formed an art group. They planned to show their paintings and sculptures at a church. After high school, Leroy worked other jobs, like at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot.

Leroy did not go to art school to get a degree. He believed art schools made students think too much alike. He wanted to be original. He did study at places like the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial and the Philadelphia College of Art. He later earned a master’s degree from Lincoln University in 1988.

Starting His Art Journey

Leroy began his art career as a painter. But in the early 1960s, he saw large pots in a magazine. He then started taking clay classes. He bought a house in North Philadelphia and put a pottery wheel and kiln in his basement. He sold ceramic pieces with a special Japanese style of decoration. He used the name "John LeRoy" because he thought "Leroy Johnson" sounded "too Black." Later, he stopped copying others and focused on African art.

What Inspired Leroy Johnson's Art

Leroy Johnson was inspired by many artists and writers. He loved the painter Horace Pippin. Pippin’s painting “Giving Thanks” reminded Leroy of his own childhood. It showed a family getting ready for a meal, with a wood-burning stove and quilts. Leroy felt this painting showed the struggles and hopes of African Americans.

Writers like Ralph Ellison also inspired him. Leroy learned that art was not just about making pretty pictures. It was about being aware of society and people. He was also inspired by artists who were good at improvising, like Thornton Dial and Romare Bearden. Musicians like John Coltrane and Biggie Smalls influenced him too. He also liked the Arte Povera Movement, which encouraged artists to use everyday objects.

Jazz and Art

Jazz music was a big influence on Leroy. He used its rhythms in his art and community work. He even helped organize a show for Philadelphia’s Jazz Appreciation Month in 2018. The show featured art that explored jazz music. The next year, his own jazz-inspired works were shown at City Hall.

Leroy Johnson's Artistic Message

Leroy Johnson called himself an “urban expressionist.” This means he showed city life and his feelings through his art. He used things he found, like photos of people, buildings, streets, and even graffiti. He worked with mixed media, clay, collage, and sculpture. He even dug up clay from around Philadelphia to make ceramic pieces.

He made miniature houses from found materials. These small houses showed the old, run-down buildings in his neighborhood. Leroy believed that African American culture was shaped by a difficult history. He said his art sometimes looked "disruptive" because it spoke about freedom and justice for African Americans.

Art Series and Hidden Meanings

Leroy created several series of artworks:

• "Street Scenes" showed houses and streets from his neighborhood.
• "Lynching Series" used Bible verses and news clippings about lynching in America.
• "Men with Hats" featured images of men, including a self-portrait.

He sometimes misspelled words on street signs in his art. This was to make people think about African American achievements. For example, he spelled the name of abolitionist Cyrus Bustill as "Bustil."

Leroy was also involved in the Black Arts Movement in Philadelphia in the 1960s and 1970s. This movement helped Black artists show their work and define their own art.

Leroy Johnson as a Teacher

Leroy Johnson was also a teacher, therapist, and counselor. He taught art at many places, including Roman Catholic High School and the Clay Studio's outreach program. He was an art therapist at elementary schools.

He led art workshops for kids and families. In 1992, he taught ceramics at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. He also taught mask-making at the Philadelphia Zoo for Black History Month.

In 2003, Leroy helped people create a ceramic mosaic mural in Baltimore. The mural showed Africa and civil rights leaders. Its title, “And Still I Rise,” came from a poem by Maya Angelou.

Exhibits and Awards for Leroy Johnson

Leroy Johnson's art was shown in many places. In 1966, he was part of an exhibit called “Exhibition of Contemporary Negro Art” in Harrisburg, PA. In 1969, he was chosen for a big exhibit called “Afro American Artists 1800-1969” in Philadelphia.

He was an artist-in-residence at the Clay Studio from 1995 to 2001. In 2019, he was an artist-in-residence at the Barnes Foundation. He worked in a special studio where people could watch him create art.

Leroy also worked with communities to create art. In 1997, he helped residents and students make sculptures for public spaces in New Jersey. He was awarded a Pew Center for Arts and Heritage fellowship in 2014. His work was also featured in a major exhibit at the Woodmere Art Museum in 2015.

Selected Exhibitions

• William Penn Memorial Museum, Harrisburg, PA, 1966
• Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1968, 1992
• Philadelphia School District and Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center, 1969
• Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, 1988, 1990, 2006
• Clay Studio, Philadelphia, 1997, 1999, 2000
• Art Gallery at City Hall, Philadelphia, 1998, 2015, 2017, 2019
• Tirza Yalon Kolton Ceramic Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1999
• Swarthmore College, List Gallery, 2004
• Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, 2008, 2015, 2018
• Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, 2011
• Philadelphia Free Library, 2012, 2017
• Center for Emerging Visual Artists, 2021

Selected Collections

• American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California
• Harvey and Jennifer Peyton Collection, Charleston, WV
• Clay Studio, Philadelphia
• Juvenile Justice Services Center, Philadelphia, PA