A Collection with a Purpose
The Collection began with a simple yet profound search for reminders of home—works that evoked the warmth and sense of belonging that come with a place deeply cherished.
The Johnson Collection began in 2002, when George and Susu Johnson started to collect paintings that resonated with their shared Southern roots. The earliest acquisitions focused primarily on artists and subjects connected to the Carolinas. Over time, however, the Johnsons encountered an increasingly rich and diverse body of Southern art, prompting the Collection to expand its geographic and artistic scope.
What initially drew them to individual paintings was often a sense of place—the landscape, communities, histories, and experiences represented in the work. That interest became the foundation for a larger vision: to build a collection that could illuminate the breadth of artistic activity across the American South.
2002 – 2010
From Regional to Southern
During the Collection’s early development, relationships with fellow collectors, galleries, scholars, and cultural institutions helped broaden its perspective. The focus moved beyond the Carolinas to encompass artists from throughout the South and artists whose work engaged with Southern subjects and histories.
Between 2006 and 2010, the Collection grew rapidly, acquiring more than 400 works in four years. This period also brought a growing interest in twentieth-century art and Southern modernism, expanding the Collection beyond traditional landscape and regional painting.
2010 – 2016
A Broader Understanding of Southern Art
As the Collection developed, so did its purpose. The Johnsons came to see collecting not simply as the preservation of individual works, but as an opportunity to contribute to a fuller understanding of American art.
The Collection therefore began to encompass artists and subjects that challenged a narrow definition of Southern art. Its holdings came to include Southern modernists, self-taught and vernacular artists, artists associated with Black Mountain College, African American artists, women artists, and contemporary artists exploring questions of identity, race, memory, landscape, and place.
This expanding scope reflects a fundamental principle of TJC: Southern art is neither singular nor isolated. It encompasses a wide range of artistic practices and perspectives and forms an essential part of the larger history of American art.
2016 – 2022
From Collection to Cultural Resource
As the holdings grew, The Johnson Collection increasingly shared its art beyond the family’s own walls. Exhibitions, publications, museum loans, educational initiatives, and institutional partnerships became central to the Collection’s work.
Since 2012, TJC has produced scholarly exhibition catalogues examining subjects ranging from nineteenth-century Southern painting and Impressionism to Eugene Thomason and Southern women artists.
The Collection has also developed a distinctive “museum without walls” model. Rather than concentrating its holdings in a single permanent museum, TJC makes works available through museums and cultural institutions across the country and internationally. In Spartanburg, works are displayed at partner locations throughout the community, while TJC Gallery provides a dedicated space for rotating exhibitions.
2022 – Now
Continuing the Vision
Today, The Johnson Collection comprises more than 1,400 works spanning more than two centuries. Its development continues to be guided by thoughtful collecting, scholarship, stewardship, and public access.
What began with George and Susu Johnson’s shared appreciation for the art and landscapes of the South has become an evolving resource for understanding the region’s place within American art.
The story of The Johnson Collection is ultimately a story of place, family, and purpose—a private collection shaped by a personal connection to the South and sustained by a commitment to share that connection with others.
Learn More About TJC
What began in 2002 as a family’s interest in paintings connected to the Carolinas has grown into one of the nation’s leading private collections devoted to Southern art.
