Ynez Johnston Paintings
American, 1920-2019
Frances Ynez Johnston (May 12, 1920 – 2019) was an American painter, sculptor, printmaker and educator. Her artwork is modernist and abstract with a narrative of imaginative lands or creatures, and often featuring collage.
Johnston was born on May 12, 1920, in Berkeley, California. She attended University of California, Berkeley to study with Worth Ryder and received her bachelor of fine arts in 1941. She traveled to Mexico in the early 1940s to continue her studies, returning to Berkeley in 1943, earning her Masters of Fine Arts in 1946.
In 1960 she married novelist and poet John Berry. In the years following she produced prints through the Tamarind Lithography Workshop.
Johnston started teaching art classes at various universities and colleges in 1950 and ended teaching in 1980.[8] She began at University of California, Berkeley (1950–1951) and then continued her teaching career at Colorado Springs Fine Art Center (1954–1955), Chouinard Art Institute (1956), California State College (1966–1967, 1969, 1973), the University of Jerusalem (1967), and Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design (1978–1980).
Her work is featured in various permanent collections including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Spencer Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Fullerton College, the McNay Art Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and others.
Johnston was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952 for fine art, which allowed her travel to Italy. In 1955–1956 she was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant for painting and printmaking, and was awarded the National Endowment for the Art (NEA) grant in 1976 and 1986.
In addition to her intricate prints and paintings, Johnston also created three dimensional pieces in collaboration with her husband and with ceramic sculptor Adam Mekler.
Her watercolors, oils and etchings of the 1950s and 1960s were rich with complex imagery, and displayed a disciplined, restrained use of color. In later mixed-media pieces, she examined the tactile qualities of surface. Her paintings incorporated soil, acrylic, dyes, encaustic on cloth, canvas, and raw silk. Composite forms suggest ambiguous architectural, human, animal and plant shapes. Johnston cited Persian and Indian miniatures as influences but also drew inspiration from European abstract artists Matisse, Miro, Klee and Picasso.
Ynez Johnston died in 2019 in Los Angeles, California.to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
6
781
712
711
689
1
1
Artist: Ynez Johnston
"HUNTING SCENE II" Lithograph by Ynez Johnston
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Pasadena, CA
"Hunting Scene II," a lithograph by American artist Ynez Johnston created in 1964, is part of a series published by the International Graphic Arts Society (IGAS) in September 1965. L...
Category
1960s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper
Related Items
1950s "Pink Towel 2" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting
Located in Arp, TX
From the estate of Jerry Opper & Ruth Friedman Opper
Yellow
c. 1950's
Gouache on Paper
15" x 18", Unframed
*Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expect framing time between 3-5 weeks.
From the estate of Ruth Friedmann Opper & Jerry Opper. Ruth was the daughter of Bauhaus artist, Gustav Friedmann.
San Francisco Abstract Expression
A free-spirited wave of creative energy swept through the San Francisco art community after World War II. Challenging accepted modes of painting, Abstract Expressionists produced highly experimental works that jolted the public out of its postwar complacency.
Abstract Expressionism resulted from a broad collective impulse rather than the inspiration of a small band of New York artists. Documenting the interchanges between the East and West Coasts, she cites areas of mutual influence and shows the impact of San Francisco on the New York School, including artists such as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt. San Francisco's Beat poets...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
The Two Clowns (Les Deux Clowns) by Antonio Gonzalez Collado
By Antonio Gonzalez Collado
Located in Stockholm, SE
Artist: Antonio Gonzalez Collado
The Two Clowns (Les Deux Clowns)
mixed media on paper
signed
artist studio stamp on the back
dimensions (motif) 15...
Category
Late 20th Century Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media
$772
H 15.36 in W 11.42 in
Tribe of Benjamin, Large Judaica Mixed Media Collage Painting
By Archie Rand
Located in Surfside, FL
Tribe of Benjamin, Biblical mural with wolf. I believe this is a study for a stained glass window. Untitled, mixed media on paper, signed lower left, inscribed "To my dear friend Dav...
Category
1980s American Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paint, Paper, Mixed Media
$1,800
H 54 in W 29.5 in
Café de la Place
By Raymond Debieve
Located in London, GB
'Café de la Place', gouache on paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). A solitary stroller in a small French town crosses the street in front of a café al...
Category
1970s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
1950s "Too Much" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting
Located in Arp, TX
From the estate of Jerry Opper & Ruth Friedman Opper
Too Much
c. 1940-1950's
Gouache on Paper
15" x 18", framed wood gallery frame float mount 21.5"x19.5"
From the estate of Ruth Friedmann Opper & Jerry Opper. Ruth was the daughter of Bauhaus artist, Gustav Friedmann.
San Francisco Abstract Expression
A free-spirited wave of creative energy swept through the San Francisco art community after World War II. Challenging accepted modes of painting, Abstract Expressionists produced highly experimental works that jolted the public out of its postwar complacency.
Abstract Expressionism resulted from a broad collective impulse rather than the inspiration of a small band of New York artists. Documenting the interchanges between the East and West Coasts, she cites areas of mutual influence and shows the impact of San Francisco on the New York School, including artists such as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt. San Francisco's Beat poets...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$760 Sale Price
41% Off
H 21.5 in W 19.5 in D 1 in
Abstract Cubist Diptych of Human Figures, Sitting with Each Other, Black, Blue
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is a beautiful painting by Alberto de Blobs (Barcleona, 1982). Alberto is a talented painter whose elaborate mixture of figurative and free form ...
Category
2010s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Paper
Alberto de BlobsAbstract Cubist Diptych of Human Figures, Sitting with Each Other, Black, Blue, 2024
$1,050
H 28 in W 40 in D 0.1 in
Adam
Eve Garden of Eden The Apple Israeli Judaica Art Original Painting Lovers
By Zammy Steynovitz
Located in Surfside, FL
This painting depicts a man and woman, Adam and Eve, interlocked and embracing one another. The woman holds an enticing apple as they are thrusted from the Garden of Eden.
This is an...
Category
20th Century Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Mixed Media
$2,200
H 13.25 in W 16.5 in
Portrait of an Artist on Interview Magazine Back Page 1989 Modernism Watercolor
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of an Artist on Interview Magazine Back Page 1989 Modernism Watercolor
Possibly a portrait of Maria Helena Vieira da Silva Portuguese artist.
Portrait of a woman on Andy Worhol's Interview Magazine back page and painted over in watercolor and acrylic by Ricardo (Richard) de Silva (De Silva) (Brazil/American, 20th C). Possibly a portrait of Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. From a collection of Ricardo de Silva's work and memorabilia. DeSilva was born in Brazil and grew up in Los Angeles. He was a gallery owner, first in Santa Barbara in the 1960's and 70's, then in San Jose in the 1980-2000s. He was dedicated to promoting the work of talented upcoming artists, including Kogyo and Hasui Kiyochika, Robert Frame, Jim Stuckenberg, Alice Robertson Carr, Deborah Eve Alastra, Russell Kelly, and Diana Mark. Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was a Portuguese abstract...
Category
1980s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
$1,150
H 22 in W 16 in D 0.25 in
Coquillage et réveil en rouge by Henri Hayden - Still Life Painting
By Henri Hayden
Located in London, GB
Coquillage et réveil en rouge by Henri Hayden (1883-1970)
Oil on paper laid down on isorel
33.5 x 46 cm (13 ¹/₄ x 18 ¹/₈ inches)
Signed and dated lower le...
Category
1960s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil, Laid Paper
$5,170
H 13.19 in W 18.12 in
Family of Three, Mid Century Gouache on Paper
By Ivan Kurach
Located in Surfside, FL
Ivan Kurach (1909 – 1968) lived and studied in Italy.
Well known both in Europe and in the United States, his paintings are found in famous private collections and in museums all ov...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Original 70
s Hand Painted Textile Design Gouache Pink
Black Color on Paper
Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES
Flowers and pixel design. Sealed on the back with design studio name and number 268
We offer a small number of these original illustration designs by this design studio based in Alc...
Category
1970s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$1,010
H 34.65 in W 18.9 in D 0.12 in
Original 70
s Hand Painted Textile Design Gouache Yellow
Black Color on Paper
Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES
Birds design. Sealed on the back with the design studio name and number 98
We offer a small number of these original illustration designs by this design studio based in Alcoy (Spain)...
Category
1970s Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$1,010
H 34.65 in W 18.9 in D 0.12 in
Previously Available Items
Untitled
By Ynez Johnston
Located in Denver, CO
Mixed media on paper. Presented in a custom frame, outer dimensions measure 21 ¼ x 26 ¾ x ¾ inches. Image size is 13 ¼ x 19 ¼ inches.
A native of Berkeley, Johnston's artistic talent received encouragement from her family who enrolled her in Saturday classes at the California College of Arts in Oakland with excursions to the de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. In 1941 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and the Bertha B. Taussig Memorial Award for the outstanding graduate in fine arts. Her instructors Worth Ryder, Erle Lorain and Margaret...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Ynez Johnston Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Ynez Johnston paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Ynez Johnston paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ynez Johnston in mixed media, paint, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1950s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Ynez Johnston paintings, so small editions measuring 18 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Rex Ashlock, Fred Mitchell, and Charles Ragland Bunnell. Ynez Johnston paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $9,500 and tops out at $9,500, while the average work can sell for $9,500.