Jasper Johns: American painter and printmaker

Jasper Johns is one of the most popular and important abstract expressionist painters. Jasper Johns was born in Augusta, Georgia. Shortly after his birth in May 1930, John’s mother divorced his alcoholic father and Johns was left to be raised by a shifting cast or relatives in and around Allendale, South Carolina.

Jasper later briefly attending the University of South Carolina in 1947-48. He served in the military, studied at a commercial art school, and worked in a book store and as a window designers he began his career in New York in the early 1950s.

He loved to draw, but he was also apparently interested in cooking, and he had little interest in hunting, fishing or other outdoor activities.

In wanting to be an artist, Johns ended up focused on a conjunction of activity and identity. His early paintings often featured repetitive motifs including US flag, a map of North America, and concentric rings in the form of a target.
Jasper Johns: American painter and printmaker