Ellen H. E. Johnson Papers, 1933-1992, n.d.
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
On November 25, 1910, Ellen Hulda Elizabeth Johnson was born in Warren, Pennsylvania, to Jacob Augustua and Hulda Jeanette (Hedlund) Johnson, immigrants from Sweden. Her father ran the Allegheny Hotel where she and her three older siblings grew up. Her connection to her Swedish heritage remained strong throughout her life. She later credits the beauty of Western Pennsylvania's Allegheny Valley with her interest in art.
Ellen Johnson was an intelligent woman who came well prepared for a college education. Her class rank in high school was 12th in a class of 136. She chose Oberlin College based on the recommendation of an adult friend who she knew through programs at the local YWCA. Beginning college in the depths of the "Great Depression," she nonetheless earned a degree of Bachelor of Arts (1933) and a Master of Arts (1935), both in Art History. Her M.A. thesis, "Modern Art and Its Traditional Aspects", written under the direction of Jessie Bryan Trefethan and Clarence Ward, provides some sense of her future sensitivity to contemporary art.
She did post-graduate work at the Sorbonne, Paris, in the summer of 1935, and again in 1951; Uppsala University in Sweden in 1946-47; the University of Stockholm, 1946-47, and again in 1951; and at Harvard University in the summer of 1941. However, Ellen Johnson did not earn a Doctorate until awarded one as an honorary degree from Oberlin College in 1981.
In 1936, Johnson went to work in the education department of the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. In 1937, she moved within the Museum to become librarian and remained there until 1939. While in Toledo, she made her mark in publishing with a piece titled "In The Style of Praxiteles" for the Magazine of Art.
Ellen Johnson returned to Oberlin in 1939 as art librarian and began a career that would span 37 years. From 1939 until 1948 she was the art librarian at the College Library, where she organized the College's first film series and the Art Museum's first "Purchase Shows." The latter provided an opportunity for students, faculty, and the Oberlin community to purchase original works of art.
In 1940, Johnson organized a revolutionary program to bring art into the lives of students. She believed that "having good works of art in their own rooms would have a health-giving effect on their thinking and feeling." To this end she initiated the Art Rental Collection, started with $600 and a small number of reproductions. For a small rental fee (originally twenty five cents), students could have a replica of a world-class work of art hanging in their dormitory or boarding house room for a semester. The program was the first of its kind in the United States. Art Rental, now over 350 items, includes only original works of art; some of these are gifts from artists in support of the concept. Johnson continued to work with it until just before her death. The program remains extremely popular even to this day. Students at Oberlin have been known, for example, to camp out in the dead of winter to secure their first choice of the works available for the second semester.
In the year after she arrived at Oberlin to be the art librarian, she was asked to accept a replacement appointment in the Fine Arts Department. Through this experience, she discovered her lifelong love of academic teaching; ultimately, she would become universally admired by her students and her peers for her ability to teach undergraduates. After her temporary teaching experience, but while still working full time as the art librarian, she received permission to teach - without pay - a non-credit course in contemporary art. The latter became a popular course and Johnson was asked to join the Fine Arts Department faculty in 1948. Here she joined Margaret Schauffler, Class of 1918, as one of the few women college professors at Oberlin. In 1953 she was granted tenure (even though she did not have a Ph.D.), and in 1964 she was named a full professor.
Johnson became a leading specialist in American and European contemporary art. She was in demand both at Oberlin and elsewhere as a visiting lecturer and professor. Among the courses she taught at Oberlin were 19th and 20th century art, the Museum course, American art from Colonial times, and Scandinavian art. At the time, the Scandinavian course was the only one of its kind in the country. She had four visiting professorships: the University of Wisconsin, 1950-51; University of Uppsala (Sweden), 1960; University of Sydney (Australia), 1977; and University of California at Santa Barbara, 1979. Johnson guest-lectured at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Courtauld Institute, the Tate Gallery, and at numerous colleges and universities.
Johnson's impact as a teacher has become the stuff of legends. Past students wrote and thanked her for the insights she imparted. Many of her students became art historians, critics, gallery owners, and museum curators. She believed everyone should have the opportunity to learn about art and resisted attempts to restrict the size of her classes. Her modern art courses became so popular that they had to be moved out of the Art Building and into Hall Auditorium. Even when her classes attracted over 400 students, she insisted upon reading each student's paper herself and commenting on every paper.
Ellen Johnson's principle service to Oberlin College was to make the Allen Memorial Art Museum world-renowned. Even with her heavy teaching schedule and travels, she served on a number of committees during the 1950's and 1960's. These included the Committee on Graduate Studies, Student Aid, the Library, Teacher's Education, Audio-Visual Aids, and Museum Accessions. She also served on the Board of Advisors to Freshmen and Sophomores. She was interested in campus politics, although she was not considered a "political animal" by her associates. She often voted with the minority.
In addition to her teaching, Johnson was an active writer, curator and collector of art.
Johnson authored nearly a hundred articles and essays. She had four articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica. She published three books: Cezanne (1967), Claes Oldenburg (1971), and edited American Artists on Art from 1940 to 1980 (1982). A collection of her essays was published in 1977, as Modern Art and the Object. In 1977, the Museum published a bibliography of Johnson's writings in the Bulletin of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Fragments Recalled at Eighty: The Art Memoirs of Ellen H. Johnson was published posthumously by her friends in 1993.
Johnson reported that she thought her piece on the Allen Art Museum's Glass of Absinthe by Picasso to be her most important. This work engendered the article, "On the Role of the Object in Analytical Cubism," [Allen Memorial Art Bulletin, XIII, 1955, pp. 11-25]. The article was the first analysis and actual identification of objects in a Cubist painting.
She had many requests from around the world to curate shows. Unfortunately, her schedule did not permit her to accept many of these offers. Among her best known large shows were the Three Young Americans biennial exhibitions in 1963, 1965, and 1968. She was the U.S. Delegate to the New Delhi Triennial in 1968, where she curated the exhibit and wrote the catalog. In 1982, she organized a major retrospective show of Eva Hesse's drawings, which toured nationally.
Johnson also helped organize numerous other shows at the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College. So valued was her contribution in forming the post-War collection, serving on its Purchase Committee, and assisting in exhibitions and fundraising, that she was named Honorary Curator of Modern Art in 1973.
Her personal art collection contained more than 300 objects. Many of the works were gifts from contemporary artists with whom she had developed a friendship through her writing and teaching. Some of the works were displayed in the Frank Lloyd Wright house (built in 1950), which she purchased in 1968 and lovingly restored. She arranged for the house to become the guesthouse for the Department of Art and the Museum upon her death. Two weeks before her death, on March 6, 1992, the Allen Memorial Art Museum opened an exhibition entitled The Living Object. The show displayed half of the over 300 works she bequeathed to the Museum.
The significance of Ellen Johnson's achievements is widely recognized. For example, Newsweek [June 6, 1977, pp. 90-91] featured her among seven other college professors who were chosen as examples of the best in their profession. Additionally, her professional activities over 38 years put Oberlin in the front of American contemporary art. In 1975, an article in Art in America noted, "in no other college has the positive interaction between new work, artists and audience been felt more deeply that at Oberlin in Ohio."
In 1982, she received from Oberlin an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts. She was a Fulbright scholar (year?) and a Guggenheim fellow (1976). She received honors or study fellowships from: the American-Scandinavian Foundation (1960), the American Council of Learned Societies (1961), twice by the National Endowment for the Humanities (1973-74 and ?), the Institute of Architects, and the Women's Caucus for Art. In 1978, she received the first Distinguished Teaching of Art History award from the College Art Association of America. Oberlin College awarded her the Alumni Medal, posthumously, in 1993.
During her life, Johnson was a world traveler. She made many trips to art centers such as New York City and Paris. She was always attracted to nature and enjoyed trips which included opportunities to hike and snorkel. She photographed all she saw for lectures and personal memories.
Her retirement from Oberlin, in June of 1977, was celebrated by announcing a multi-million dollar expansion of the Allen Memorial Art Museum and Department of Art, an expansion that was to include "The Ellen Johnson Gallery of Modern Art." To help fund the Gallery, a benefit auction was held at Sotheby's in New York. It included works donated by many major artists in honor of Johnson. The catalog, it is said, read like a "Who's Who in Contemporary Art." In addition to the money raised, numerous important works were donated to the Museum in tribute to Johnson.
Upon her death on March 25, 1992, Ellen Johnson had made major contributions to the field of contemporary art, made Oberlin's Art Museum one of the best in the country, and influenced countless students through her dynamic teaching. Following her death, the bulk of her papers were transferred to the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution with a collection of 4 linear feet coming to the Oberlin Archives.
SOURCES CONSULTED
Faculty and Student file of Ellen H. E. Johnson (RG 28).
Author: Shan Thomas Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationSee videotapes (RG 57) for Alice Weston's conversation with Ellen Johnson (acc. 1998/093).
A much larger collection of Ellen Johnson’s papers reside at the Archives of American Art as the Ellen Hulda Johnson Papers, 1872-1994. The collection, at 55.3 linear feet, was donated in 1994 and 1998 by the estate of Ellen Hulda Johnson via executor Athena Tacha. Shortly after acquisition, the Archives of American Art transferred Ellen Hulda Johnson's vertical file (16 linear feet) of clippings, press releases, and exhibition announcements to the library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Ellen Johnson was a teacher, writer, artist, collector of contemporary art, and world traveler. Papers of this faculty member unevenly document the career of an extraordinary woman who worked and taught at Oberlin College for 38 years. In order to gain a grasp of the uniqueness and extent of Johnson's contributions to the world of contemporary art and the teaching of modern art history, one must access the research files and assorted papers donated to the Archives of American Art.
The collection is organized into seven series. These series are: I. Biographical Files, 1933-1994; II. Correspondence and Memorandum, 1944-1977; III. Committee Files, 1956-1973; IV. Files Relating to Instruction, 1940-1977; V. Miscellaneous Files, 1948-72; VI. Files of Her Talks and Writings, 1937-1987; and VII. Photographic Negatives and Prints, 1930-56 and undated.
The "Biographical Files" (Series I.), mostly clippings and tear sheets, document aspects of Ellen Johnson's academic and personal life. Included is documentation of seven of her awards and honors. Of special interest are the two files documenting her honorary doctorate from Oberlin in 1981 and her retirement memorial, "The Ellen Johnson Gallery of Modern Art." Unfortunately, the latter does not contain project development materials. Instead, to be found here are the official Oberlin College announcements, an invitation to the show preceding the fundraising auction, and the Sotheby's catalog of that auction, all dated 1975. The genealogical information file (1933-1992) contains the usual obituary and "Memorial Minute" as well as her B.A. commencement program. Materials pertaining to her death were placed among her papers after her death by the executrix of her estate, Athena Tacha, a fellow art professor and long time friend. The two "Estate files" are of particular interest because they elucidate the disposition of two of her most significant assets. First is the 1980 contract between Johnson and Oberlin College outlining the use of the Frank Lloyd Wright House during and after her death. The second is the 1994 Inventory of her papers given to the Archives of American Art. Finally, this series contains six files covering a sample of the writings about Ellen Johnson appearing in newspaper articles and periodicals. The oral history transcript by Richard Spear (1977) is worthy of note as the most exhaustive research done about her inspirations and work.
Series II. “Correspondence and Memorandum Files, 1944-1977” consists of only two files, "Correspondence, 1957-1977" and "Memorandum, 1944-1977." The content of these files are scanty considering the number of friends and colleagues she acquired throughout her life and the length of her career. The Correspondence file consists mainly of protocol letters from three Deans of the College of Arts and Science, William Hellmuth, Donald Reich, and Robert Longsworth, announcing the Chairs of the Department of Art. Three exceptions exist to these business letters. The exceptions are personal letters, all written in 1975, to her sister Elva (Mrs. Louis Weber) of Erie, Pennsylvania. The incomplete memorandum file consists of the usual campus or department wide general memoranda (duplicated) covering the years 1944 to 1977. In 1965 she instituted the practice of labeling the first page in the lower left hand column to assist in retrieval from her files. In addition to these labels, her handwritten comments appear throughout the memoranda.
In terms of professional service, Johnson's greatest contribution was her work with the Allen Memorial Art Museum. With her energetic support and worldwide reputation, the museum became known as one of the finest collegiate art museums in the United States. Johnson's other academic involvement, namely committee membership, was minimal. Of the eight committee files in Series III. ("Committee Files"), she served on only one - the Library Committee; but she was a permanent and active member of the Museum's Acquisitions Committee. Johnson retained a small number of reports and minutes from six committees and one professional association, in which she had an interest. These are: the American Association of University Professors (1959 & 1965); the Committee on College Planning (1958-1962) with her margin notes; the Creative Arts Committee (spring, 1971) with the proposal for the Inter Arts Council; the Committee on the Status of Women (1971-1973); the Oberlin College Teaching Association (1973); Three Course, Three Term Plan (1959-1968); and Winter Term (1967-1971).
In "Files Relating to Instruction" (Series IV.), researchers will acquire only a glimpse of her career as a teacher and art historian. Her curricula development files are deposited with the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. Substantiating her reputation as an outstanding college professor is difficult to establish from these files alone; but when one combines them with other papers, her concern for students and her thorough course preparation can be clearly seen. Her class bibliographies are extensive and diverse. Many of the recommended readings were written by the artists under study. Her grade books substantiate the popularity of her courses among a wide variety of students. Student research papers, of which the series has almost 200, selected by her over the years, are complete with Johnson's handwritten margin notes.
Among "Miscellaneous Files" (Series V.) are materials underscoring Johnson's long and productive career with the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Most important is the file of use statistics and notes regarding the Art Rental Program. Other records (accounts, collection lists, and correspondence) pertaining to this program are part of the files deposited with the Archives of American Art. Conceived by Johnson in 1940 and still active today, she maintained a record of who rented the art works, how many were rented, and what art was most popular. Humorous comments are found in her hand in the margins of statistical lists. Other files in this series offer brief glimpses at the more mundane side of being a college professor at a small private college. As a single woman, she was not without concern for her future. This may explain why she collected many of the college's informational documents pertaining to retirement.
Johnson was a prolific writer. This collection contains many but not all of her published essays and articles in Series VI. "Talks & Writings." All of these are in a finished form, except for one set of printer's galleys and a typed draft of an article. A more complete run and Johnson's background research files are to be found among her papers donated to the Archives of American Art. Thus, Johnson's personal papers do not give us much information on the process Johnson followed to produce her pieces. Yet, a small folder survives with her hand-written and typed notes to herself. Only one text of a public speech and four announcements are a part of this series, although from biographical sources it is known that Johnson was in frequent demand as a speaker and visiting professor. Texts of her speeches are among the papers at the Archives of American Art. The non-textual materials are early photographs - some printed and some still in negative form - from her days as a college student at Oberlin through the mid-1950's. As a portraitist, in her early career Johnson was an accomplished photographer and she apparently took pictures all through her life. In many ways these early prints give a view of her eye to nature and her intimate connection with other people. Owing to a fire at her home in 1956, much of her photography was lost. The photographs in this collection are those that survived and are of friends, family, members of the Oberlin community, and places she visited in her travels.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I. Biographical Files, 1933-1994 (0.4 l.f.)
Consisting of 12 file units, this Series reports on the academic life and person of Ellen Johnson. Included is information on four of her Awards and Honors (1975, 1978 & 2 in 1983); genealogical data covering six decades (1933-1992); details on her Frank Lloyd Wright House (1980); the donation of her papers to the Archives of American Art (1994); and six files covering writings about Ellen Johnson in the form of photocopied newspaper articles and periodical tear sheets. A 39-page oral history transcript exists that contains both a rough and edited version of the 1977 interview conducted with Johnson by Richard Spear. The Series is arranged alphabetically and thereunder are arranged chronologically.
Series II. Correspondence and Memorandum, 1944-1977 (2f)
The Correspondence file, 1957-1977, is incomplete numbering only 15 items (one addition by Athena Tacha in 1986). It is mostly routine letters from the Deans of the Arts and Science Division. All other letters are from college departments or committees except three personal letters from 1975. The Memorandum File, 1944-1977, consists mostly of duplicated general memoranda to Oberlin faculty concerning a variety of college administrative activities. Both file units are arranged chronologically.
Series III. Committee Files, 1956-73 (0.2 l.f.)
The files contain minutes, reports, and memoranda from seven committees. Almost all is in duplicated form for general distribution to faculty with Johnson's margin notes. Memoranda from the American Association of University Professors (1959 & 1965) and reports of the Oberlin College Teaching Association (1973) are included among these files. The margin notes throughout the files show Johnson often voting with the minority or dissenting from the mainstream. The Series is arranged alphabetically and the files thereunder are arranged chronologically.
Series IV. Files Relating to Instruction, 1940-77
Two files, within this Series, contain an incomplete set of Johnson's course bibliographies and syllabi covering three decades. There are 54 grade books, 1940-77, organized chronologically and a considerable body (1 l.f.) of student papers was also organized chronologically and dates from 1960 through 1972.
Series V. Miscellaneous Files, 1948-1972, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)
Files relating to Johnson's professional interests, including the Art Rental Program, the Allen Memorial Art Museum, College Budgets, Curricula in Fine Arts, Committee Reports, and a file of College Rules and Regulations. The Series is organized alphabetically and thereunder arranged chronologically.
Series VI. Talks and Writings, n.d. (2.45 l.f.)
In these two small files are to be found bibliographies of the writings of Ellen Johnson dated 1964 & 1975, and some handwritten and typed notes she wrote to herself (n.d.). A third file contains two invitations to a public speaking engagement by Johnson, along with the original text to a speech. The bulk of the Series is represented by files of her published works in tear sheets, offprints, and photocopies. These latter files are arranged alphabetically by title. One poster advertises Johnson's tour in 1977 giving the John Power Lecture in Contemporary Art.
Series VII. Non-textual Material, 1930-56, 1961-63, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1992, n.d. (1.52 l.f. and one oversized box)
Photographic negatives and prints taken by Johnson of family, friends, the Oberlin community, works of art, and her travels, circa 1930 to 1960. About one half of the negatives are 35mm film rolls in 24 canisters and the other half are in various sizes between 1.75x2 and 3.5x5, originally bundled in 160 jackets by Johnson. The prints (0.2 l.f.) consist of 20 8x10, 2 5x7, 4 3x5, and 29 various small sizes. Where dates are available the negatives are arranged chronologically. Of note are a small number of prints and negatives of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings from 1937, ca. 1949 and undated.
Series VIII. Materials Relating to Scandinavian Art and Artists, 1940s-1980s
Photographs and printed matter of Scandinavian art received from fellow artists and art institutions. The names of the artists and institutions are included in the inventory.