Michael Johnson

Michael 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