The Johnson Collection

The Johnson Collection The Johnson Collection The collection also seeks to enrich its local community by inviting the public to interact with these inspiring works of art.

Located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, The Johnson Collection offers an extensive survey of artistic activity in the American South from the late eighteenth century to the present day. The Johnson family is committed to creating a collection which captures and illuminates the rich history and diverse cultures of the region. By making masterworks from its holdings available for critical exhibition

s and academic research, the collection hopes to advance interest in the dynamic role that the art of the South plays in the larger context of American art and to contribute to the canon of art historical literature.

Tomorrow! Have you made your TJC dollhouse yet? If not stop by TJC Gallery for ArtWalk to make yours! The evening will f...
06/17/2026

Tomorrow!
Have you made your TJC dollhouse yet? If not stop by TJC Gallery for ArtWalk to make yours! The evening will feature a guided session on how to build the paper craft. Kids of all ages welcome; the craft is best for ages 6+.

Can't make it to ArtWalk? Pick up your dollhouse to make at home and follow our tutorial on Youtube!

Opening Today at the The Columbus museum: "Circa 1776." Celebrating the nation's 250th, The Columbus Museum presents 25 ...
06/15/2026

Opening Today at the The Columbus museum: "Circa 1776."

Celebrating the nation's 250th, The Columbus Museum presents 25 paintings created before the nation's founding and then 25 paintings created after the revolution. See TJC's pendant pair of paintings by Joshua Johnson on loan to this exhibition.

Joshua Johnson (b. c. 1763 - active 1796-1824) • Hilmer Schumacher • circa 1808-1810

Georgia native Dox Thrash grew up in a cabin a generation after slavery, but escaped the limited opportunities that face...
06/12/2026

Georgia native Dox Thrash grew up in a cabin a generation after slavery, but escaped the limited opportunities that faced him and many other Southern African Americans by moving to Chicago and later Philadelphia. He received training at the Art Institute of Chicago and worked for many years in graphic design at a Philadelphia print shop, later co-inventing the carborundum printmaking technique.

When does a home cease to be? Though change is the fate of all earthly things, homes are built as much with feelings and associations as they are with construction materials. Can a decaying house or even a totally altered landscape remain something of a home if it still evokes the thoughts and memories of its former use? How faint is the echo of home when those associations pass even from memory?

Dox Thrash (1893 – 1965) • Ruined Cabin • circa 1940 • On view at TJC Gallery

This is a roughly true-to-life depiction of what had once been the George and Hattie Dean home on North Church Street, r...
06/10/2026

This is a roughly true-to-life depiction of what had once been the George and Hattie Dean home on North Church Street, recast by the economics of the day into a service station and boarding house. What a subject for an artwork with such a swirling and dizzying sense of space and juxtaposition! At one point in the 1920s, a period of massive transformation in downtown Spartanburg, five large historic homes served as filling stations.

In its 1850s beginning, the Nesbitt/Dean home stood across from Central Methodist and the Walker/Montgomery home, with old First Baptist and plenty of other grand homes nearby. Big changes came to the neighborhood when the 1892 Courthouse, 1895 Law Range, and 1905 Post Office all came north of the square. As a boarding house, this remained something like a home longer than most.

Homer Ellertson (1892 – 1935) • The Dean House, Spartanburg, S.C., • circa 1932 • On view at TJC Gallery

06/09/2026

Join us this Thursday, June 11, at 4 pm for an engaging talk exploring how Southern landscape painters captured the terrain of the American South. From the craggy ridgelines of Appalachia to the humid stillness of the Louisiana Swamp, artists rendered the region not merely as scenery, but as mythic space—charged with history, identity, and atmosphere. Special attention will be given to artists who frequently explored and sketched the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We are joined by Sarah Tignor, Director of The Johnson Collection. This program is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Bryant and Nancy Hanley Foundation. Reserve your spot now at BlowingRockMuseum.org/calendar.

A New York investment banker who found time for art education at the Pratt Institute and through the Art Students League...
06/08/2026

A New York investment banker who found time for art education at the Pratt Institute and through the Art Students League, Robert Lawrence retired to Tryon in the 1950s and frequently painted mountain views plein-air, or in the open air.

In this scene, ‘domestic backyard’ meets ‘wildlife front yard’, with an offering of peace and plenty. These border spaces are sacred, showcasing a balance of neighborliness between humans and nature. How fortunate for the Carolina Piedmont area to recognize home through mountains and trees like these.

Robert Lawrence (1883 – 1970) • Coloring Up • On view at TJC Gallery

Happy Summer! What is happening at TJC Gallery this month? Looking for a place to get the kids out of the heat? TJC Gall...
06/01/2026

Happy Summer! What is happening at TJC Gallery this month?

Looking for a place to get the kids out of the heat? TJC Gallery is free and welcomes visitors of all ages. Bring the little ones — we’ve got hands-on fun available every day! Ask a TJC staff member for coloring sheets, an exhibition-themed craft, or a gallery scavenger hunt on your visit.

• Join us for a crafty ArtWalk on June 18 from 5–8 PM

• Stop by our weekly Tuesday yoga at 9 AM — all levels welcome; please bring your own mat and props.

• TJC Gallery will be closed on Saturday, July 4.

TJC Gallery just got a refresh! Check out our new signage on your next visit sporting our brand new logo. Shout out to o...
05/29/2026

TJC Gallery just got a refresh!
Check out our new signage on your next visit sporting our brand new logo.

Shout out to our awesome partners at Social Design House for helping us create our new logo and brand refresh. More exciting things are coming soon. 👀

Open today at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center: Black Mountain COLL(A)GE Showcasing a wide variety of tec...
05/29/2026

Open today at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center:
Black Mountain COLL(A)GE

Showcasing a wide variety of techniques of accumulation, selection, and reinterpretation—broadly interpreted as collage—the exhibition will encompass two-dimensional visual works, three-dimensional assemblages, poems, performances, and more. Featuring on TJC's "Veiled Figures" by Jean Varda on loan.

Greek artist Jean Varda had already been exploring glass mosaics and Greek mythology when he was invited to teach at BMC in 1946. Known for “using everything but the kitchen-stove,” Varda incorporated various found textiles and other materials into his mosaics and collages depicting beautiful women and exotic cityscapes. The institution's fascination with both the material and metaphysical elements of "Collage" made him a perfect addition to the esteemed faculty.

Black Mountain College’s legend is written in names. Albers. Asawa. de Kooning. Cunningham. Jennerjahn. Lawrence. Harris...
05/28/2026

Black Mountain College’s legend is written in names. Albers. Asawa. de Kooning. Cunningham. Jennerjahn. Lawrence. Harrison. Cage. Twombly. Rauschenberg. Noland. Fuller. Creeley. Olson—the list goes on—and so does the story. Over 30 years ago, Emmy-winning director David Royle began filming the last remaining voices of Black Mountain College capturing unseen performances and stories. Now, with guidance from Larry Wheeler, Director Emeritus of the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Black Mountain Legacy Film Project nonprofit is completing the film for 2026. Follow the documentary’s progress on its newly launched website.

Images Top Left to Bottom Right:

"Two students walking from the farm to the fields in the summer of 1944." Photo by Josef Breitenbach. © Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation. Courtesy Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina.

"New Studies Building, Black Mountain College postcard"
circa 1940 – 1942, Vintage postcard, Fredrick Photogelatine Press, Inc., New York, N. Y.

"Dance class in front of Lee Hall," ca. 1939
Sue Spayth Riley Papers. Courtesy of the Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina

"Lake Eden," Black Mountain Documentary.com

The students, from the back of the photograph, left to right, are Hope Stephens, Bela Martin, Fred Stone, Bettey Brett, Robert De Niro, Eunice Shifris, Martha McMillan, Claude Stoller, and Mimi French. Unknown photographer. Courtesy of Black Mountain College Collection, Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina.

"Studies Building, Black Mountain College" Courtesy of Black Mountain College Collection, Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina.

"Buckminster Fuller and students test geodesic dome," 1947, Collection of Masato Nakagawa, Gift of Mary Emma Harris, Black Mountain College Project. Courtesy of the Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina

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154 W Main Street
Spartanburg, SC
29306

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 12pm - 4pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm
Saturday 12pm - 4pm

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