C. Raymond Johnson was born in
Chariton, Iowa in 1891, one of six children of Reverend Gustav Johnson and Josephine Abrahamson Johnson. The family moved to
Portland, Oregon in 1902, where he attended
Lincoln High School and the
Museum Art School. At twenty, Jonson attended the
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Later, he continued the development of his technical skills at the
Chicago Art Institute. In 1913, Jonson was strongly affected by the avant-garde works displayed in the
Armory Show, particularly the works of
Wassily Kandinsky. His artistic theories were further developed by Kandinsky's book
On The Spiritual In Art. He also taught at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts until 1920. In
Nicholas & Helena Roerich, The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists & Peacemakers, Ruth Abrams Drayer writes that Jonson visited the exhibition of
Nicholas Roerich in 1921 and then wrote in his diary, "There opened at the Institute the exhibition of the work of Nicholas Roerich. It is glorious. Would that I could express the wonder of it -- I feel that at his best he has accomplished that which all artists hope to do. There are at least six paintings that I believe to be the most spiritual pieces of expression that I have ever seen." Jonson went on to become secretary in Roerich's society
Cor Ardens composed of the "fiery, spiritual, radical group of young painters" who shared Roerich's belief that "the only real fraternity among men is the fraternity of beauty as expressed in art." In 1922 Jonson helped found the
Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists. In 1922, Jonson's life was changed when he visited
New Mexico for the first time. The experiences and sights of this short visit to
Santa Fe, convinced Jonson to move to New Mexico in 1924 to focus on painting among the southwestern landscapes. In Santa Fe, Jonson started the Atalaya Art School and arranged for a "Modern Wing" in which he mounted monthly exhibitions by modern artists at the
New Mexico Museum of Art from 1927-1931. In 1934, Jonson began teaching art at the
University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque. Drayer writes that Bisttram had previously taught painting at Roerich's
Master Institute in New York City for several years. The aim of the
Transcendental Painting Group was "to defend, validate and promote abstract art. They sought to carry painting beyond the appearance of the physical world, through new expressions of space, color, light and design." Other members of the
Transcendental Painting Group were Ed Garman,
Florence Miller Pierce, Horace Towner Pierce,
Agnes Pelton, Stuart Walker,
William Lumpkins, and Lawren Harris. The group was forced to disband in 1942 due to World War II. The
Jonson Gallery was established at the University of New Mexico in 1950. While teaching at the University of New Mexico in the early 1950s, Jonson had a profound influence on the
Cochiti Pueblo artist
Joe Herrera. Jonson retired from the University of New Mexico in 1954, but continued to mentor students there, including painter
William Conger. Raymond Jonson died at the age of 90 while at the Jonson Gallery on May 10, 1982. The Jonson Gallery's collection was moved to the
UNM Art Museum in 2010. ==References==