Michael Johnson

American, born 1949

BiographyMichael Johnson has been photographing rural America for more than thirty-five years. He is a traditional large format photographer, producing silver/gelatin prints from view camera negatives. His large black and white photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. They are acquired by museums, corporations, hospitals, and private collectors.

A self-taught photographer, Johnson traces his inspiration to the European master painters of the 17th century. However, his vision has been shaped by the land, itself, especially by the landscape of the driftless area of Northwestern Illinois.

Johnson's love for the land extends to other areas of his life as well. He and his wife, Patricia have planted thousands of trees on their family tree farm near Mount Carroll, Illinois, where they operate a small sawmill and sustainable hardwood lumber business. They were named Illinois Outstanding Tree Farmers in 2003 by the American Tree Farm System.

Museum Collections

The Art Institute of Chicago
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Inst.
The Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art
The Cincinnati Art Museum
The California Museum of Photography, Riverside
The Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
The Krannert Museum, Champaign, Illinois
The Dennos Museum, Traverse City, Michigan
The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina
The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE
San Jose Museum of Art
Health Care Facilities Collections

Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, IA
New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
Las Vegas Federal Medical Center, Nellis Air Force Base
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, TX
Covenant Medical Center, Waterloo, IA
Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, IA

Corporate & Private Collections
Sprint

International Business Machines Corporation
Mobil Oil Corporation, Houston
McDonald's Corporation
The Hyatt Corporation, Chicago
Mastercard
Ratheon Corporation
The CocaCola Company
Citycorp, Kansas City
The Marriott Corporation
Lowe Lintas and Partners, Chicago
Commercial Bank, Chicago
HNTB Corporation, Kansas City
Texaco USA, Houston
The Morgan Trust Bank
B.D.O. Seidman, Chicago
Masonite Corporation, Chicago
Chubb & Son Inc.
Atlantic Mutual Company, Madison, NJ
Arthur Andersen and Company
Pacific Telesis, San Francisco
Texas Instruments
McKinsey and Company, Chicago
Ray-O-Vac Corporation, Madison, WI
Emerson Electric Corporation, St. Louis
The Farm Credit Administration, St. Louis
Bear, Stearns & Co., NYC
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Fox Broadcasting Network
Bank of America, Phoenix
Cincinnati Bell Systems
Beatrice Foods, Chicago, IL
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Arizona Bank
The Miller Brewing Company
Pacific Bell Telephone
Ingersoll-Rand, Dallas
The Chicago Botanic Gardens
Dallas Semiconductor Corporation
Browning-Ferris Industries, Houston
Canadian Imperial Bank, Los Angeles
The Continental Bank of Illinois
First City Bank, Houston
Pru-Care Incorporated, Atlanta
Western Bank, Houston
Comp Care Corporation, Anaheim, CA
University of Illinois at Champaign
First City Bank, Arlington, Texas
Pioneer Hi-Bred, Johnstown, IA
Matag Corporation, Newton, IA
The Ponderosa Corporation, Cincinnati
Eastern Illinois University
First Bank Systems, Minneapolis
Prairie State College, Chicago
Reva & David Logan Foundation
The Ruttenberg Arts Foundation
The State of Illinois Center, Chicago

http://www.michaeljohnsonphotography.com/bio.html

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