World-renowned painter, printmaker and sculptor Jasper Johns was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1930 and raised near Adelaide, South Carolina. Knowing at a young age that he wanted to be an artist, Johns was supported by his family who bought him supplies and encouraged his studies. He spent three semesters at the University of South Carolina before taking the advice of a professor and moving to New York in 1948. He attended Parsons School of Design for a short time before being drafted to serve in the Korean War in the early 1950s. After spending two years in Sendai, Japan, Johns returned to New York in 1953 and began his emergence into the art scene.

During his early years in New York, Johns met and began relationships with other creatives such as composer John Cage, choreographer Merce Cunningham, and artist Robert Rauschenberg. Johns and Rauschenberg were essential to the ensuing transition from the Abstract Expressionism of the previous generation into the Pop, Minimal, and Conceptual art styles of the future. Johns’ work at this time was filled with everyday symbols like flags and numbers shown in both creative compositions and stark simplicity, offering an original and exciting visual style.

Famous art dealer and gallery director Leo Castelli saw Johns’ work for the first time while visiting Rauschenberg’s studio. He was immediately impressed with Johns' creativity in using the seemingly mundane to introduce such a unique style in an art world desperate for something new. Shortly after their initial meeting, Leo Castelli offered Johns a solo show at his gallery in 1958. This first Castelli show was a pivotal moment that set Johns on the path to immediate international recognition. MoMA director Alfred Barr and curator Dorothy Miller purchased three of the paintings for the collection, and arranged for architect Phillip Johnson to purchase a fourth that he would later donate. Curator Frank O’Hara saw the works and promptly invited Johns to be one of three American artists exhibited in the Central Pavilion at the 1958 Venice Biennale.

Gallery Director Kusuo Shimizu and art critic Yoshiaki Tōno saw Johns’ work at the Biennale show and extended an invitation to visit Japan in April of 1964. It was here that Johns was introduced to the lively Japanese art world and began working at a studio in the Ginza district. The 1964 trip to Japan was successful for him and yielded the notable works Watchman, Souvenir and Souvenir 2. Johns would return to Japan many times throughout his career to draw inspiration, most famously for his prolific 1977 crosshatch series Usuyuki.

Widely regarded as one of the most famous and successful artists of his time, Jasper Johns redefined post-war art by setting aside the gestural-ness of Abstract Expressionism and replacing it with a more controlled and conceptual style all his own. Johns, along with some of his contemporaries, is one of the most important American painters of the 20th century, while his experimental printmaking practices put him on par with the likes of Picasso and Goya as one of the greatest printmakers of all time. Throughout his six-decade career, Jasper Johns has received many awards and accolades, such as the National Medal of Arts in 1990 and the National Medal of Freedom in 2011. Johns is still alive and making art at his estate in Sharon, Connecticut.