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Recent Posts
- If You Know Small Towns, See the Film ‘Nebraska’
- Summer’s Peak – The Garden Cornucopia
- It’s Summer – and That Means the County Fair
- Good-bye, Annette, from Your Ardent Mickey Mouse Club Fans
- “Lincoln” Film, VA State Capitol and Vernon Johnson
- Another “Found” Vernon Johnson Painting of Rural Ohio
- 200th Anniversary of Virginia’s Executive Mansion
- How Dave Brubeck and Vernon Johnson “Met” in a Watercolor
- Talking 1950s on the Radio – The Lucky Strike Papers
- On Lincoln, Ohio and other election post-mortems
- Election 2012 – Ohio and Virginia Core Values Rule
Pages
- About
- Chapters
- Analysis and Foreword by Henry Adams, Ph.D.
- Author Introduction by Janis Johnson
- Chapter 1: Long and Deep Ohio Ties
- Chapter 2: But “Who Is Vernon Johnson?”
- Chapter 3: Downtown Mount Vernon in the 1950s
- Chapter 4: “We’ll Meet You at Pitkin’s Corner”
- Chapter 5: The Knox County Fair
- Chapter 6: House Portraits of the 1950s
- Chapter 7: The Accent House
- Chapter 8: 1950s Commerce, Industry, Civic and Social Life
- Chapter 9: Documenting Vernon Johnson’s Vision of the 1950s
- Landscapes as “Maps”
- Share Your Memories
- The 1950s “Mad Men”
Archives
1950s-1960s Graphic Design
American Art
Babyboomer Stories
Books
Mid-Century Culture
Ohio History & Culture
Buy This Book
Knox County Historical Society:
740.393.5247Paragraphs Bookstore, Mount Vernon, Ohio:
740.393.9290Amazon.com:
Use "The Artist's Eye" and "Vernon P. Johnson" in the search; all proceeds go to the Knox County Historical SocietyFor other information about Vernon Johnson and purchase information, contact:
info@jjohnsoncommunication.com
Tag Archives: arts
“Lincoln” Film, VA State Capitol and Vernon Johnson
A sketch of the Virginia State Capitol illustrates another connection between the recent “Lincoln” film and the artistic eye of Vernon Johnson. While several current Richmond landmarks served as historic Civil War era locations for the cinematographers, the State Capitol building … Continue reading
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Tagged American watercolor artists, architecture, arts, illustration, Lincoln film, Richmond, Virginia
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Another “Found” Vernon Johnson Painting of Rural Ohio
Imagine browsing through a thrift shop and finding a “lost” Vernon Johnson painting with a high-class provenance – the elegant Palmer House Hotel, Chicago’s liveliest social center at the turn of the 20th century and well into it. From the … Continue reading
200th Anniversary of Virginia’s Executive Mansion
American history buffs will appreciate the many events this year to celebrate the 200th birthday of Virginia Executive’s Mansion, home of the governor on the State Capitol grounds. Vernon Johnson’s commissioned painting of the Executive Mansion in 1987 enjoys a … Continue reading
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Tagged American watercolor artists, architecture, arts, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Executive Mansion
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How Dave Brubeck and Vernon Johnson “Met” in a Watercolor
During this month of jazz artist Dave Brubeck’s passing just before his 92th birthday, I remember fondly our family’s distant connections and how they influenced my musical and artistic tastes. Brubeck and my father, the watercolor artist Vernon Johnson, who was … Continue reading
Talking 1950s on the Radio – The Lucky Strike Papers
“Radio Once More” and Andrew Fielding are stalwarts of journalism that serves history – longtime pros using modern-day capacities through print and multi-media to capture the vivid realities and contexts of our past and to bring them alive in new ways … Continue reading
On Lincoln, Ohio and other election post-mortems
It appears that Daniel Day-Lewis’ stirring portrayal Lincoln is going to be sold out in my neighborhood movie theater for the foreseeable future, a reality that along with other post-election reflections, takes me once again back to Ohio while I wait … Continue reading
Election 2012 – Ohio and Virginia Core Values Rule
Here’s an alternative theory on why Ohio and Virginia were so important to the 2012 presidential election. Core values rule – but they are played out differently in each generation. Central Ohio in the 1950s was a heavy contributor to … Continue reading
Preserving Rural Life: The Summer Ritual of the Midwestern County Fair
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s county fair time! Whether in Ohio or California, the celebration of agriculture, farming and rural life — augmented by rock bands and fireworks –are celebrated in the county fair which, from coast to … Continue reading
You Can Own “The Accent House!”
The Accent House continues to be one of the most storied residences depicted by Vernon P. Johnson in The Artist’s Eye. Recently I talked to a former Mount Vernon, Ohio, resident, who is nearly 98 and who members Mrs. Congdon, the … Continue reading
Passage from India: A Watercolor’s 65-Year Roundtrip
Jazz musician Dave Brubeck’s 1958 State Department tour to India sparked the second chapter in the long and storied life of “Calcutta Bazaar,” an amazing watercolor painted by my father, Vernon P. Johnson from firsthand experience in 1946. Twelve years later, Dad … Continue reading
The Artist’s Eye: Vernon P. Johnson’s Watercolors of 1950s Small Town America
If you are a Baby Boomer… If you grew up in America in the 1950s… If you lived in a small town in America in the 1950s… If you are researching that era of American art and culture… If you are … Continue reading
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Tagged 1940s, 1950s, 1950s American art, 1950s American culture, 1960s, American watercolor artists, architecture, arts, Baby Boomer history, Historic county fairs, Hometowns, illustration, Janis Johnson, Midwestern scenes, Ohio history, Small town America, The Artist's Eye, Vernon P. Johnson
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