Artist Roman Johnson teaches art to sick sailors at the Brooklyn Navy Yard's Naval Hospital, March 1, 1947. Johnson was a Red Cross Voluntary Instructor and wears American Red Cross (Arts and Skills Unit) overalls.
In 1989 Johnson, then 72, wrote for an exhibition of his work, ""I do paintings in an effort to enhance or continue the culture of Black people. In the 40s and 50s when I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York, I never saw any art by or about Blacks. So I decided to do that. I am personally indebted as an artist to Edwin Dickinson, Emerson Burkhart, Ernest Fiene, and Kuniyoshi. It would be a damn shame to let those guys down considering all the time and attention they gave me. I labor on every painting out of respect for them; to do my subjects justice; and because painting is hard work."
Photo: European/Archive Photos/Getty Images
