Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
David Johnson fonds
General material designation
- Textual record
- Graphic material
Parallel title
Description type
Private
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
[195-?]-2008 (Creation)
- Creator
- Johnson, David, 1928-2013
Physical description area
Physical description
1.030m of textual records
302 photographs
281 paintings
65 drawings
10 photographs : negatives
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
David Johnson was born in England in 1928, and attended public schools near London. Despite an interest in art, he attended Loughbourough College from 1946-1948 and became a teacher. However, in 1950 he began night and Sunday classes at a local art school, and in 1952 won a four year scholarship to the Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting. Completing his degree in 1956, he continued to study as a graduate scholar at Byam Shaw until 1957. It was also during this time that he studied classical draughtsmanship and stained glass. Johnson spent six years as studio assistant to renowned English mural artist Brian Thomas, doing work on windows at Westminster Abbey, the chapel of the Order of the British Empire and the American Memorial Chapel at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Johnson immigrated to Ontario, Canada in 1973 with his wife and six children. He worked first for Encyclopaedia Britannica (Manitoba-Saskatchewan region), but in 1978 resumed working full-time as an artist. He started his company, David Johnson Studio, in 1979 (the company was incorporated in 1984). The family settled in Regina, Saskatchewan and Johnson designed his first Canadian windows in Wawota, Moose Jaw and Regina during 1979. He was elected a professional member of the Stained Glass Association of America, based on recommendations from clients and existing members, and continued to hold membership in the British Society of Master Glass Painters. His studio work focused on conservation, restoration and original stained glass pieces. The majority of the windows created were for churches throughout Saskatchewan and Ontario; however, Johnson created works in almost every other province in Canada. While the studio was in operation, Johnson was active in the art scene in Saskatchewan as a director of Neutral Ground Gallery (Regina), and as a director of Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society and Heritage Regina. He also worked as the arts editor for Grain, a publication for Saskatchewan writers and artists, contributed articles to the Commonwealth and was commissioned for several sculptures and portrait paintings.
In 1996, David Johnson and his wife Christine moved to Tyvan, Saskatchewan. Johnson was awarded the Municipal Heritage Award from the City of Regina in 1997 for his interior restoration work. He was also awarded with the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Heritage Architecture Excellence Award in 2007 in the Exterior Restoration category, and in 2010 in the Adaptive Reuse category . Johnson's commissioned works included portraits, sculptures, courtroom drawings for television and stained glass in churches, hospitals, commercial sites and homes.
David Johnson died near Tyvan on December 14, 2013.
Custodial history
Scope and content
This fonds consists of records created, accumulated and used by David Johnson in his work as an artist from the 1950s to 2008. The records include project working files of David Johnson Studio, Inc. relating to stained glass commissions for homes, public buildings and churches. The fonds also includes Johnson's original design paintings in the medium of gouache; court trial sketches, primarily of the Colin Thatcher murder trial, in pen, pencil and watercolour; and photographs of selected artistic works of Johnson's including sculptures, drawings, paintings and prints.
The fonds has been arranged into four series: Project Files; Designs for Stained Glass Windows and Artwork; Other Artistic Works and Personal.
The types of records included are paintings, drawings, photographs, correspondence and clippings.
Notes area
Physical condition
Records are in good physical condition.
Some of the rolled paintings are dirty and/or fragile.
Immediate source of acquisition
David Johnson donated these records to the Regina office, Saskatchewan Archives in six accessions between 1996 and 2008: R96-441 (August 22, 1996); R2003-235 (July 22, 2003); R2003-243 (July 29, 2003); R2004-230 (July 14, 2004); and R2006-179 (April 21, 2006); 2008-188 (August 6, 2008).
Arrangement
Arrangement reflects both original alphabetical order and archival intervention. Series titles supplied by archivist. File titles provided by records creator except where indicated in square brackets.
Certain photographs have been retained in the textual record to preserve context. (R-1525: Files I.6, I.39, I.44, I.45, I.49, I.66, I.87, I.100, I.109, I.159, I.173, I.174, I.175, I.176, I.187)
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Records are open for research use.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Use, publication and/or reproduction of records may be subject to terms and conditions of the Copyright Act and/ or a donor agreement.
To consult the records, visit or contact the Regina office.
Finding aids
SAFA 91 (old guide GR 586) consists of a fonds level description, file level listings of textual records, and item level descriptions of the paintings and drawings.
Uploaded finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
General note
Location for retrieval: Regina - Hillsdale.
Conservation
Conservation practices in place at the time of arrangement were applied to records in old guide GR 586. In 2006 and 2008, archival staff replaced the original file folders with acid-free folders. If notations existed on the file folders, they were photocopied and placed in the front of the file. Newspaper clippings and facsimiles were photocopied by archival staff.
Oversize records were stored in appropriate oversize storage, and paintings and drawings were separated by acid-free tissue paper.
Alpha-numeric designations
Textual records: old guide GR 586 (R-1525).
Paintings: R-D2249 to R-D2407, R-D2538 to R-D2577, R-D2599 to R-D2609, R-D2659 to R-D2703, R-D2707 to R-D2731.
Drawings: R-D2578 (1)-(61), R-D2658, R-D2704 to R-D2706.
Photographs: R-A34555 to R-A34583 (1)-(10), R-B14554 (1)-(2) to R-B14607 (1)-(10).
Alternative identifier(s)
Original ID
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Saskatchewan Archives. Archival Description Manual 2004.
Status
Final
Level of detail
Language of description
- English
Script of description
- Latin
Sources
Content of the fonds.