William H. Johnson was a painter who went to the National Academy of Design. He was the child of Henry Johnson and Alice Smoot. His dreams of becoming an artist started at a young age, where he copied cartoons from the paper. He lived in a poor, segregated town in the south. Mentor Charles Webster Hawthorne sent William to Paris, France. Most of Johnson's inspiration came from various artists and sculptors Charles Webster Hawthorne, Christoph Voll, and Holcha Krake. He also used his own memories and cultures as an inspiration tool.
Jacob Lawrence
D.O.B.- September 7, 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey
D.O.D.- June 9,2000 in Seattle, Washington
Jacob Lawrence was an academic and painter who attended Harlem Art Workshop and American Artists School. His parents were divorced and was reunited by age 13. Jacob's mother sent him to Utopia Children's Center where he took an after-school art program. He was drafted into the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served. He was inspired by Harlem with its culture and people. He took the atmosphere around him and made it a piece of art.