David Johns
(1948 - ) |
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Art Work
| Name: |
David Johns |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Winslow, Arizona |
| Nationality: |
American Indian/Navajo |
| Birth: |
1948 |
| Death: |
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| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
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| Medium: |
Oil, Watercolor |
| Method: |
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| Style: |
traditional contemporary |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
This artist was born in Seba Delkai, a remote area of Navajo country north of Winslow, Arizona, in 1948. After the death of his mother four years later, the little boy was absorbed into the extended family and raised traditionally, herding sheep and becoming steeped in Navajo history and legends. This background and the high desert country of monoliths and ever-changing colors were to significantly impact the artwork of David Johns in many ways.
From the age of five, Johns pursued his obsession with art; he progressed from drawing to watercolors and by junior high was painting with oils. An art instructor at Winslow High School encouraged him to try Navajo portraiture, a genre in which he would become an acknowledged master. In 1968, Johns enrolled at Flagstaff’s Northern Arizona University; however, family concerns forced him to postpone his education until eight years later. Meanwhile, the young artist was exploring his Navajo heritage in abstract landscapes as well as figurative portraits in a variety of mediums; oil, pastels, and acrylics.
Thanks to a scholarship from the Lovena Ohl Foundation, Johns graduated with honors from Northern Arizona University in 1982. A few years later, the painter embarked upon a commission that catapulted him into regional, national and eventually international fame. During the late 1980’s, the painter spent a year and a half on a 50-foot high scaffold creating a 2600 square foot mural spanning the dome of Phoenix’s Concord Place.
“David Johns is a Navajo man. His native world of the Southwest and of Arizona is ineffably rich in myth and meaning and prehistory, language and literature,” said Pulitzer-prize winning author N. Scott Momaday at the 1988 dedication of Concord Place. Johns continues to celebrate his Navajo world in stunning artworks ranging from dramatic abstract landscapes to poignant and evocative portraits. |
Samples of Work
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