John Seward Johnson II
| John Seward Johnson II | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1930 (age 86–87) New Jersey |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Kline (m. ?-1965) Joyce Horton (m. ?-present) |
| Children | Jenia Anne "Cookie" Johnson John Seward Johnson III Clelia Constance Johnson |
| Parent(s) |
John Seward Johnson I (1895–1983) Ruth Dill |
| Website | www.sewardjohnson.com |
John Seward Johnson II (born 16 April 1930), also known as J. Seward Johnson Jr. and Seward Johnson, is an American artist known for his trompe l'oeil painted bronze statues. He is a grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson) and Colonel Thomas Melville Dill of Bermuda.
He creates life-size bronze statues, which are castings of living people, depicting them engaged in day-to-day activities. A large staff of technicians perform the fabrication.
Johnson was born in New Jersey. His father was John Seward Johnson I, and his mother was Ruth Dill, the sister of actress Diana Dill, making him a first cousin of actor Michael Douglas. Johnson grew up with five siblings: Mary Lea Johnson Richards, Elaine Johnson, Diana Melville Johnson, Jennifer Underwood Johnson, and James Loring "Jimmy" Johnson. His parents divorced around 1937, and his father remarried two years later, producing his only brother Jimmy Johnson, making him an uncle to film director Jamie Johnson.
Johnson attended Forman School for dyslexics and University of Maine, where he majored in poultry husbandry, but did not graduate. Johnson also served four years in the Navy during the Korean War.
Johnson worked for Johnson & Johnson until he was fired by his uncle Robert Wood Johnson II, in 1962.
His early artistic efforts focused on painting, after which he turned to sculpture in 1968. Examples of his statues include:
For statues made recently in a series named, Iconic, by Johnson, many of which are very large, a computer program is employed that translates two-dimensional images into statues that are constructed by a machine driven by the program. Often, these subjects are images that already are well known as the works of others, generating heated ethical controversies regarding copyright infringement and derivative works due to substantial similarity issues.
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