When flicking through a book recently I came across this first picture, and for a split second I thought that there was something a bit funny about this famous painting by Edouard Manet. I quickly realised that this was of course not Manet’s ‘Déjeuner sur l’herbe’ but in fact a sculpture by American artist J. Seward Johnson.
‘Dejeuner Déjà vu’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘Déjeuner sur l’herbe’ (1863) by Édouard Manet.
To be quite honest, my history of art is not quite as good as it should be as much of my time in art college was spent drinking large quantities of alcohol, and perusing women, however one era of art that did really stand out to me was the impressionist era, and it is quite obvious that this era has also had an effect on Seward Johnson, as much of his works are inspired by many impressionist artists.
Here are more examples of a large series of works he made titled ‘Beyond the frame’, most of which are recreations of some of the most famous paintings from the impressionist era. Most of these works can be found in the sculpture park founded by J. Seward Johnson in 1992 ‘Grounds for Sculpture’. This 35-acre public sculpture park is located in Hamilton, New Jersey.
‘On Poppied Hill’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘Woman with a Parasol, Madame Monet with her Son’ (1875) by Claude Monet.
‘Were you invited?’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘Le déjeuner des canotiers’ (1881) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
‘If it were time’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘Terrasse à Sainte-Adresse’ (1867) by Claude Monet
‘Sailing the seine’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘Argenteuil’ (1874) by Édouard Manet.
‘God Bless America’ by J. Seward Johnson
‘American Gothic’ (1930) by Grant Wood.
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