William H. Johnson (1910-1970) was an American painter. He worked through many styles throughout his life including academic, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, German Expressionism, to "conscious naiveté” or a folk style. In 1926 he traveled to France and this is credited as some of his earliest exposure to modernist forms. He traveled around Europe and returned to New York in 1938 at the onset of World War II. On returning to the United States he d Johnson studied at the National Academy of Design in New York.