Mountains and Sea, Hardanger Fjord, Norway 1938

William H. Johnson made this oil on canvas painting of the Hardanger Fjord in Norway. The scene depicts a mountainous landscape in shades of green and blue, with touches of bright yellow and white. Johnson was an African-American artist who lived and worked in Scandinavia for several years in the 1930s. This painting reflects a period of relative social tolerance and cultural exchange. While in Europe, Johnson adopted a folk-art style with simplified shapes and bold colors, influenced by the work of Edvard Munch and the German Expressionists. His time abroad provided a respite from the racial discrimination he faced in the United States. In this work, Johnson is less interested in the accuracy of depiction than in expressing an emotional response to the landscape. The flattening of the picture plane and the use of non-naturalistic colors suggest an interest in abstraction, although the painting remains representational. To better understand Johnson’s time in Scandinavia, look at archival sources such as letters, photographs, and exhibition catalogues to provide greater insight into his life and work.