Anderson Johnson was born in Virginia 1915 and was a resident of Newport News, Virginia. His father was a sharecropper. God started speaking to Anderson early on in his life, and at the ripe old age of sixteen, young Master Johnson was called by the Lord to preach the Gospel.

Anderson was a street preacher in many cities and towns before settling in Newport News in 1985. After an accident left him partially paralyzed, Anderson converted the first floor of his home into a church which was to become known as "Faith Mission".

Reverend Johnson had a quick wit and was once asked by a visitor why he only had three chairs in his living room for his congregation, Anderson quickly replied "Most times that's three too many !"

Anderson covered the walls of Faith Mission with hundreds of paintings. Most of these were of women's faces done on salvaged plywood or cardboard. Faith Mission was demolished in 1993 for an urban renewal project, but the murals that Reverend Johnson painted were saved by the city and are now supposedly in storage.

His work has appeared in many exhibitions and is in the permanent collection of many museums including Asheville Art Museum and the St. James Place Folk Art Museum. Larger pieces (greater than 12" x 12") are especially prized by collectors. He passed away in 1998.

Anderson Johnson is one of the most important Outsider Artists on the twentieth century. A gallery devoted to Anderson Johnson's work is being built at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.


Source:
"Anderson Johnson," website of Visionary Art