John Seward Johnson II (April 16, 1930 – March 10, 2020), also known as J. Seward Johnson Jr. and Seward Johnson, was an American artist known for ''

trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...

'' painted

bronze statues Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements t ...

. He was a grandson of

Robert Wood Johnson I Robert Wood Johnson I (February 20, 1845 – February 7, 1910) was an American industrialist. He was one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson. Early life and education Johnson was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, on February 2 ...

, the co-founder of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, and of Colonel

Thomas Melville Dill Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill OBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier. Early life Dill was born in Devonshire Parish, in the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, th ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. He designed life-size bronze statues that were

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

s of living people, depicting them engaged in day-to-day activities. A large staff of technicians did the fabrication of the works he designed. Computers and digital technology often were used in the manufacturing process. Sometimes the manufacture was contracted in China. He was the founder of

Grounds For Sculpture Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a Sculpture garden, sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Hamilton Township, New Jersey. It is located on the former site of Trenton Speedway. Founded in 1992 by John S ...

, a sculpture park and museum located in

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a Township (New Jersey), township and the most populous municipality in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, the state's capi ...

Early life and education

Johnson was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. His father was

John Seward Johnson I John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). He was also known as J. Seward Johnson Sr. and Seward Johnson. He was a longtime executive and director of J ...

, and his mother was Ruth Dill, the sister of actress

Diana Dill Diana Love Webster (née Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015), known professionally as Diana Douglas, was a Bermudian-American actress who was married to actor Kirk Douglas from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. ...

, making him a first cousin of actor

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

. Johnson grew up with five siblings:

Mary Lea Johnson Richards Mary Lea Johnson Richards (August 20, 1926 – May 3, 1990) was an American heiress, entrepreneur, and Broadway producer. She was a granddaughter of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson), and of Bermudan politician, soldier, and ...

, Elaine Johnson, Diana Melville Johnson, Jennifer Underwood Johnson, and James Loring "Jimmy" Johnson. His parents divorced around 1937. His father remarried two years later, producing his only brother, Jimmy Johnson, making him an uncle to

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

director Jamie Johnson. Johnson attended

Forman School The Forman School is a co-educational boarding and day school in Litchfield, Connecticut, United States offering a college preparatory program in grades 9 to 12 and a postgraduate program (PG) exclusively for students with learning differences su ...

for

dyslexics Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...

. Later, he attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

, where he majored in poultry husbandry, but did not graduate. Johnson also served four years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

Standing man at the lobby of Le Mirador Resort and Spa

Johnson worked for

until 1962, when he was fired by his uncle

Robert Wood Johnson II Robert Wood "General" Johnson II (April 4, 1893 – January 30, 1968) was an American businessman. He was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. He turned the family business into one of the world's ...

, who had turned the family business into one of the world's largest healthcare corporations. Johnson maintained a studio in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

and later, another at a site in

Mercerville, New Jersey Mercerville is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey ...

that formerly had been used for the New Jersey State Fair. His early artistic efforts focused on painting, after which he turned to sculpture in 1968. Examples of his statues include: * ''Spring'' (1979), a bronze dedicated in 1979, set in the Crim Dell Woods section of the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

, Williamsburg, Virginia. Other examples of ''Spring'' castings include the East Brunswick, New Jersey public library and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton, Ohio. * ''

The Awakening The Awakening may refer to: Religion * Awakening (Finnish religious movement), a Lutheran movement in Finland * Great Awakening, several periods of Anglo-American Christian revival Film and television Film * ''The Awakening'', a 1913 film starring ...

'' (1980), his largest and most dramatic work, a five-part statue that depicts a giant trying to free himself from underground. The sculpture was located at

Hains Point East Potomac Park is a park located on a man-made island in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., United States. The island is between the Washington Channel and the Potomac River, and on it the park lies southeast of the Jefferson Memorial and ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for nearly twenty-eight years while still owned by Johnson. It was moved to

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

in February, 2008, and an attempt was made by the new curator to correct some of the scale distortions of the original installation by altering some implied underground connections and placing the parts in different relationships to each other. * ''

Double Check In chess and other related games, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces simultaneously. In chess notation, it is almost always represented the same way as a single check ("+"), but is sometimes symbolized by "++". (The symbol "++", ...

'' (1982), a statue of a businessman checking his attaché case, formerly located in Liberty Plaza Park across an intersection from the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

, as part of the public space required by a zoning variance granted to the developer of the adjoining skyscraper. Widely published photographs of the debris-battered and dust-covered statue were taken following the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in 2001. The statue, scars and all, was returned to a prominent corner of the restored and renamed

Zuccotti Park Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park) is a publicly accessible park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is located in a privately owned public space (POPS) controlled by Brookfield Properties and Goldman S ...

in 2006, again open to the public. Periodically, the statue has been adorned by tourists, pranksters, and even

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...

protesters. '' Makeshift Memorial'' is an adapted 2nd casting of ''Double Check'', placed in 2004 along the

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

opposite the original World Trade Center site, and is a component of the Jersey City 9/11 Memorial * ''Hitchhiker'' (1983), a statue at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, at the California Avenue gate, near a road leading away from campus. * ''Allow Me'' (Portland, Oregon) (1984), a statue of man holding an umbrella, in

Pioneer Courthouse Square Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as Portland's living room, is a public space occupying a full city block in the center of Downtown Portland, downtown Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1984, the square is bound ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, part of the '' Allow Me'' series. * ''Lunch Break'' (1983), a statue of a worker sitting on a bench, taking a break for lunch with a cigar in hand and lunch box at his side. Statues are known to be placed in Zichron Ya'akov, Israel (originally in Morristown, New Jersey and brought to Israel by the Jerusalem Foundation), in Edmonton, Canada, and Key West, Florida. * ''Competition'' (1984), a statue of Julie Wier,

Fairview Heights, Illinois Fairview Heights is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States within Greater St. Louis. It is an eastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 17,078 at the 2010 census. Fairview Heights is a dominant shopping center for Greater St ...

, chosen to represent the spirit of the people of St. Louis as winner of the "picture yourself as a work of art" contest. Dedicated on June 16, 1984 unsigned

St. Louis County Library St. Louis County Library (SLCL) is a library system that serves residents of St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is the busiest public library in Missouri, circulating more than 11 million items in 2023. It consists of 20 branches, incl ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. * ''Waiting'' (1988), a statue of a man reading a paper, in

Australia Square Australia Square Tower is an office and retail skyscraper in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Its main address is 264 George Street, and the square is bounded on the northern side by Bond Street, eastern side by Pitt Street and ...

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

* ''Waiting'' (1992), a statue of a man reading a paper, in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

* ''Déjeuner Déjà Vu'' (1994), at

Grounds for Sculpture Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a Sculpture garden, sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Hamilton Township, New Jersey. It is located on the former site of Trenton Speedway. Founded in 1992 by John S ...

, a facility founded by Johnson, is a three-dimensional restaging of

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

's painting, '' Le déjeuner sur l'herbe'' * ''Copyright Infringement'' (1994), at Grounds for Sculpture (a facility founded by Johnson) is a sculpture that he named to flaunt his disdain for criticism of his copies of the iconic works of fine art artists with international recognition. It represents the fine artist

, whose work he has copied. * ''

Unconditional Surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees, reassurances, or promises (i.e., conditions) are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. Anno ...

'' (a series with several material versions begun in 2005), a spokesperson for Johnson has stated that this series is based on a photograph that is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, ''Kissing the War Goodbye'', by

Victor Jorgensen Victor Jorgensen (July 8, 1913 – June 14, 1994) was a former Navy photo journalist who probably is most notable for taking an instantly iconic photograph of an impromptu scene in Manhattan on August 14, 1945, but from a different angle and in ...

,Robert L. Pincus,
Port surrenders in the battle against kitsch
", ''San Diego Union-Tribune,'' March 11, 2007. however, the Jorgensen photographic image does not extend low enough to include the lower legs and shoes of the subjects, revealed in

Alfred Eisenstaedt Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for ''Life'' magazine af ...

's famous photograph, ''

V–J day in Times Square ''V-J Day in Times Square'' is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a United States Navy, U.S. Navy sailor kissing a total stranger after grabbing her—a dental assistant—on Victory over Japan Day ("V-J Day") in New York City's ...

'', that are represented identically in the statue. A spokesperson for ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' has called it a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

of the latter image. Nonetheless, the first version, a bronze statue in life-size, was placed on temporary exhibition during the 2005 anniversary of

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...

at the

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

Information Center near where the original photographs were taken in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. :Several slightly differing twenty-five-feet-tall-versions have been constructed in

styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

and

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

with little detail, painted, and put on display by Johnson in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, Snug Harbor in New York, and

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

. Their immensity has drawn crowds of viewers at each site although the view of them from nearby is severely limited, essentially allowing a vista of the legs and up the skirt. The statues have been described as

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

by one critic. Johnson later would dub the statue "Embracing Peace", which he treated as a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

when spoken. :A proposal to establish a permanent location for a copy on the Sarasota bay front generated a heated controversy about the suitability of the statue to the location, suitability as a military service memorial, the permanent placement of any statue on that public property, as well as the particular issues of lack of originality, mechanical construction, copyright infringement, and the kitsch allegations about the statue. In final agreement documents with the purchaser (a private person), Johnson committed the purchase price to cover copyright liability damages in order to have the statue placed. The city was wary of accepting a gift from the purchaser that might result in a financial loss from a possible legal battle that evidenced merit, according to the city attorney. :In October 2014, French feminist group Osez La Feminisme ! petitioned to have a copy of the statue, erected at a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in September 2014, removed and sent back to the United States, criticizing it as "immortali

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

a sexual assault" :Controversies surrounding the statue still existed in Sarasota at the close of 2021, when the question of whether to place a sign addressing them was presented to the city commission at a public meeting in Sarasota on December 6. * ''Big Sister'', just outside the Pig 'N' Whistle pub and Michael's Restaurant at 123 Eagle Street, part of the ''Celebrating the Familiar'' series *''Morris Frank and Buddy'' (2005) - a statue of the co-founder of

The Seeing Eye The Seeing Eye, Inc. is a guide dog school located in Morris Township, New Jersey, in the United States. Founded in 1929, the Seeing Eye is the oldest guide dog school in the U.S., and one of the largest. The Seeing Eye campus includes admin ...

and the first

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead people who are blind or visually impaired around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green c ...

for the blind trained in the US stands in the

Morristown Green Morristown Green, most commonly referred to as the Green, is a historical park located in the center of Morristown, New Jersey, Morristown, New Jersey, United States. It has an area of two and a half acres and has in the past served as a militar ...

in New Jersey. Frank is shown giving the "forward" command to his dog. * ''First Ride'' (2006), a statue of a father helping his young daughter learn to ride a bike, in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel () is a suburban city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 99,757 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city spans across Clay Township, Hamilton County, Indi ...

. * ''Newspaper Reader'' (1981), at the entrance to Steinman Park,

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. The gentleman is looking at three Newspapers - ''The Lancaster New Era'' reporting the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon landing (July 21, 1969), ''The Intelligencer Journal'' reporting Three Mile Island nuclear accident (March 29, 1979) and the paper he is holding, the September 16, 1923 edition, reporting that the Steinman brothers challenged the no-work-on-Sunday blue laws by publishing the Sunday News for the first time. * ''

Forever Marilyn ''Forever Marilyn'' is a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe designed by Seward Johnson. The statue is a representation of the image of Monroe taken from Billy Wilder's 1955 film ''The Seven Year Itch''. Created in 2011, the statue has been displaye ...

'' (2011), a , 17-ton representation of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

standing over a gusty subway grate in her appearance in ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...

''. Until 2012, the statue was located at

Pioneer Court Pioneer Court is a plaza located near the junction of the Chicago River and Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Upper Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Magnificent Mile. It is believed to be the site of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable's original residence and tr ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where it attracted many visitors and some controversy for its risque features. It was moved to downtown

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

in 2012. In July 2013 plans were announced that it would be moved to New Jersey for a 2014 exhibit honoring Johnson at the

. The statue returned to Palm Springs in 2019 and is now displayed in a central location. ''Magic Fountain'' stands outside

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (BMSCH) is a freestanding, 89-bed pediatric acute care children's hospital adjacent to RWJUH. It is affiliated with both Robert Wood Johnson Medical School ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. many of which are very large, a computer program is employed that translates two-dimensional images into statues that are constructed by a machine driven by the program. Often, these subjects are images that already are well known as the works of others, generating heated ethical controversies regarding

and

derivative works In copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major copyrightable elements of a first, previously created original work (the underlying work). The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent from t ...

due to

substantial similarity Substantial similarity, in US copyright law, is the standard used to determine whether a defendant has infringed the reproduction right of a copyright. The standard arises out of the recognition that the exclusive right to make copies of a work w ...

issues. Johnson's works were selected by the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

to represent the freedoms of the United States in a public and private partnership enterprise representation sponsored by

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

and many other US corporations at the

World EXPO A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

celebration in

Seville, Spain Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

during 1992.

Criticism

Johnson's work was labeled as "

" in a 1984 article by an art professor and critic at Princeton University, who explained its rejection as he was commenting on a controversy raging about the work in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. His 2003 show at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

, ''Beyond the Frame: Impressionism Revisited'', which presented his statues imitating famous

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

paintings, was a success with audiences, but was panned nationally by acknowledged art critics such as

Blake Gopnik Blake Gopnik (born 1963) is an American art critic who has lived in New York City since 2011. He previously spent a decade as chief art critic of ''The Washington Post'', prior to which he was an arts editor and critic in Canada. He has a docto ...

writing for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and drew strong criticism from curators at other museums about a prominent museum of

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

presenting an exhibit of his work.

Philanthropy

Johnson was the chairman and CEO of The Atlantic Foundation, the foundation created by his father, John Seward Johnson I, in 1963. Johnson created the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture, an educational, nonprofit casting and

fabrication Fabrication may refer to: * Manufacturing, specifically the crafting of individual parts as a solo product or as part of a larger combined product. Processes in arts, crafts and manufacturing *Semiconductor device fabrication, the process used t ...

facility in 1974 as a means of fostering young sculptors' talents, while creating a foundry designed to construct his statues that is so well-equipped and staffed that it is chosen by many renowned sculptors. Educational programs at the Atelier ceased in 2004. The Johnson Atelier now operates as a division of The Sculpture Foundation. Johnson continued to make his sculpture at the facility but casting often was performed off premises, with some of his larger works being cast in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He also founded an organization named "The Sculpture Foundation", to promote his works. In 1987, he published ''Celebrating the Familiar: The Sculpture of J. Seward Johnson, Jr''. Under Johnson's direction, The Atlantic Foundation purchased the old New Jersey Fairgrounds in Hamilton, New Jersey and in 1992 founded the

to display work completed at the Johnson Atelier and other outdoor exhibitions. In 2000 park operations were transferred to a new public charity with the same intent that continues to operate the park. He was president of the

International Sculpture Center The International Sculpture Center (ISC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1960 by Elden Tefft and James A. Sterritt at the University of Kansas. It is currently located at Grounds For Sculpture (the former the New Jersey Fairground) i ...

of Hamilton, New Jersey, which publishes a magazine out of offices in

Johnson also was the president of a large oceanographic research institution in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

that had been founded by his father. The institution published a science magazine. Johnson and his wife funded the construction of The Joyce and Seward Johnson Theater for the

Theater for the New City Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading off-off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the P ...

, an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Personal life

Johnson was excluded from his father's will, which left the bulk of his fortune to

Barbara Piasecka Johnson Barbara "Basia" Piasecka Johnson (born Barbara Piasecka; February 25, 1937 – April 1, 2013) was a Polish humanitarian, philanthropist, art connoisseur and art collector, collector. Early life Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near Grodno ...

, his father's wife and former art curator. He and his siblings sued on grounds that their father was not mentally competent at the time he signed the will. It was settled out of court, and the children were granted about 12% of the fortune. Johnson was formerly married to Barbara Kline. She often engaged in extramarital affairs in their home, driving Johnson to attempt suicide. In 1965, he acknowledged paternity to Jenia Anne "Cookie" Johnson to speed up the divorce process. Years later, Johnson's family had a legal battle regarding Cookie Johnson's eligibility for a share in the Johnson & Johnson fortune. The court ruled in favor of Cookie. Johnson later married Joyce Horton, a novelist. They had two children,

John Seward Johnson III John Seward Johnson III (born September 2, 1966) is an American filmmaker, philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson) and the son of artist John Seward Johnson II. He is ...

and actress Clelia Constance Johnson, who is credited as "India Blake." Johnson died from cancer at his home in

on March 10, 2020, at the age of 89.

References

External links

*
Johnson Atelier

* ttp://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!316427!0 Art Inventories Catalog {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John Seward 2 American modern artists John Seward II 1930 births 2020 deaths Sculptors from New Jersey United States Navy personnel of the Korean War 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors American people of Bermudian descent 21st-century sculptors Trompe-l'œil artists Johnson & Johnson people Schuyler family Military personnel from Mercer County, New Jersey Military personnel from Middlesex County, New Jersey Artists from New Brunswick, New Jersey Artists from Princeton, New Jersey University of Maine alumni