Collection Information
Size: 3.4 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of New York-based painter Buffie Johnson measure 3.4 linear feet and date from circa 1920-2010. While the collection is primarily composed of printed materials that document her career and exhibition history, a small amount of biographical material, correspondence, writings, exhibition and project files, and photographic material provide more in depth documentation of her personal and professional life.
Biographical/Historical Note
Buffie Johnson (1912-2006) was a painter in New York. Born in New York City, Johnson studied art at the University of California, Los Angeles, and then traveled to Europe to study painting with Francis Picabia and Stanley William Hayter. Her first exhibition was in Paris in 1938, after which she showed extensively for more than sixty years in the United States and Europe. In 1959, Johnson was commissioned to paint an abstract mural for the Astor Theatre in New York. She was also known for imaginative restorations of her two Upper East Side homes, and for her friendships with prominent American writers and artists.
Provenance
Donated to Archives of American Art in 1972 and 1980 by Buffie Johnson and in 2016 by Johnson's daughter, Jenny Johnson Sykes.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Buffie Johnson conducted by Paul Cummings in 1977 and Barbara Shikler in 1982.
Language Note
Collection is in English
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