
Sargent Claude Johnson
1887
—
1967
African American artist (1887-1967)
Sargent Claude Johnson was one of the first African-American artists working in California to achieve a national reputation. He was known for Abstract Figurative and Early Modern styles. He was a painter, potter, ceramicist, printmaker, graphic artist, sculptor, and carver. He worked in a variety of media, including ceramics, clay, stone, wood, terra cotta, tiled murals, watercolor, oil on canvas, porcelain enamel on steel, and lithography. Despite having lived in San Francisco for most of his adult life, Johnson is considered one of the stellar artists of the Harlem Renaissance.