Thelma Johnson Streat

Thelma Johnson Streat (August 12, 1911 – May 1959) was an African American artist, dancer, and educator, who gained prominence in the 1940s for her art, performance and work to foster inter-cultural understanding and appreciation.

She was born in Yakima, a small agricultural town in Washington State, to artist James Johnson, and his wife Gertrude.Her family then moved to Portland, Oregon. She studied art at the Museum Art School in Portland in the 1930’s.

"The work of Thelma Johnson Streat is in my opinion one of the most interesting manifestations in this country at the present. It is extremely evolved and sophisticated enough to reconquer the grace and purity of African and American art."

Streat was a multi-talented artist, seeking to express herself through many creative avenues, including oil and watercolor paintings, pen and ink drawings, charcoal sketches, mixed media murals, and textile design.

Her paintings have appeared in exhibits at museums and galleries including:

Her most well-known painting, “Rabbit Man,” is part of the MoMA’s permanent collection. Streat's work was also added to the permanent collection of The Smithsonian when they purchased “Medicine and Transportation Mural” in 2016. The mural resides at the African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington D.C.

In 1939-1940 Streat assisted Diego Rivera in the creation of the Pan American Unity mural, for the Arts in Action exhibition at Treasure Island’s Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE). A portrait of Streat, just one of the many of Rivera's friends of depicted in this mural, it can now be seen at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in The Diego Rivera Theatre on Ocean Campus.

People who have owned Streat’s work include actor Vincent Price, singer Roland Hayes, artist Diego Rivera, actress Fanny Brice, dancer Katherine Dunham, and actress Paulette Goddard.

Her painting “Medicine and Transportation” is on display as part of the permanent collection in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

...
Wikipedia