Sale 2528 - African-American Fine Art, January 30, 2020

The Johnson Publishing Company Collection of African-American Art In its September 1972 issue of Ebony , the Johnson Publishing Company presented its luxurious new headquarters in Chicago at 820 South Michigan Avenue. With a splashy and lengthy color spread, Ebony magazine proudly revealed to the public its new corporate offices. The Johnson Publishing Company had reached impressive new heights for African-American corporate culture. Image after image shows the company’s comprehensive vision for their headquarters: the building by architect JohnW. Moutoussamy, and sumptuous interior by designer John Ilrod (from the executive suite of founder and publisher John H. Johnson, to the office cafeteria). The 11-story tower, the first African-American–owned building in the Loop, Chicago’s downtown area, and the first and only one designed by an African-American architect, soon gained iconic status. The magazine article also was the public’s first chance to catch glimpses on the office walls of another significant aspect of its new stature: an important collection of African- American art. It, too, became a part of the fabric of the JPC corporate culture. Just as its new building epitomized the Johnson Publishing Company’s ideal of celebrating African-American excellence, so did its art collection. Assembled were over 150 works representing a diverse range of American artists, from Henry Ossawa Tanner to Carrie Mae Weems, in addition to a collection of African art. Scarce works by important figures of early twentieth-century Chicago, like William Edouard Scott and Richmond Barthé, are now alongside recent works by young contemporary artists like Nathanial Bustion and Gloria Bohanon, from the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles.