Jean Louise P. Johanson (October 3, 1911 – March 1, 2000) was an American sculptor, mosaic artist, and jewelry designer.

Early years and education

Johanson was born in

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, Washington in 1911. She was a student of sculptor

Dudley Pratt Dudley Pratt (June 14, 1897 – November 18, 1975) was an American sculptor. He was born in Paris, France to Boston sculptors Bela and Helen Pratt. His sculptural education included study under Charles Grafly, Antoine Bourdelle, and Alexande ...

, Ruth Penington and Walter Isaacs, and took two summer classes with

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist, sculpture, sculptor, and graphic designer, graphic artist, active in France and the United States. He was one of the first to apply the principles o ...

during his visits to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in the 1930s. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1934. In 1936, Johanson married the architect Perry Johanson, a co-founder of the Northwest architecture firm

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Career

Johanson and her husband moved to Hilltop in the early 1950s. She had a solo show at the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The museum operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in ...

in 1944 and won numerous gallery awards during her career. In 1948 she made the sculpture “Spirit of Medicine” in collaboration with Dudley Pratt, which is located at the Health Sciences building on the University of Washington campus. In 1966 she made a metal fountain which is displayed at Westlake Square. She produced sculptural ornament for several buildings in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

metropolitan area. She produced freestanding works as well, including a bronze fountain installed at Seattle's Westlake Center. She was also known for her pebble mosaics. Her mosaic-works are shown at the Unitarian Church in

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, Nordstrom's Department Store in Seattle, Holy Family Church in Kirkland and Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle. Joseph Young called her "among the foremost in the use of sandcast pebble mosaics". Her mosaic "Men Come and Go Like Waves of the Sea," named after a quotation attributed to

Chief Seattle Seattle ( – June 7, 1866; , ; usually styled as Chief Seattle) was a leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship wi ...

, is installed at the Pacific Science Center in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s she concentrated on creating jewelry of natural materials.

Death

Johanson died at the age of 88 of Alzheimer's disease.

Exhibitions

* New York World's Fair (1939) * National Exhibition of American Artists in New York (1936) * Seattle Art Museum (1936–1938, one artist show in 1944)

References

Bibliography

*Beers, Carole. "Jean Louise Johanson, Seattle artist." ''Seattle

ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

Times,'' night final edition, March 5, 2000. *. * Seattle Arts Commission, ''A Field Guide to Seattle's Public Art'', Seattle Arts Commission, 1991 *. *Graduation date from death notice i
Columns: The University of Washington alumni magazine
June 2000.

External links

Photograph of Jean Johanson
1937, by Ernst Kassowitz in the Modern Photographers Collection of the

.
Men Come and Go Like the Waves of the Sea
on Waymarking.com. 1911 births 2000 deaths University of Washington alumni 20th-century American sculptors American jewelry designers American mosaic artists American women jewellers 20th-century American women sculptors Women mosaic artists {{US-sculptor-stub