LITERATURE

The thrill of the hunt, learning and developing taste and knowing what appeals to you are all part of starting a collection. This two-session seminar is an overview of art collecting—how to enjoy its pleasures and avoid its pitfalls. Robert Flynn Johnson, former Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs with the de Young Museum, will use original works of art to share his forty years of experience in the field. He will provide insights and information on how to collect, while also teaching you how to avoid pitfalls that collectors often experience. The information shared in this program applies to all types of collecting.

Robert Flynn Johnson graduated from McGill University with a BA, Cum Laude in 1972 and did graduate work at the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU in1973. He was the Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, Baltimore Museum of Art from1973-75; Curator in Charge, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, 1975-2007. Mr. Johnson is currently an art history instructor at the San Francisco Art Institute and University of California, Santa Cruz.

Additionally, Mr. Johnson is author of numerous publications including Lucian Freud: Works on Paper [1988], Plant Kingdoms: The Photographs of Charles Jones [1999], Artist’s Books in the Modern Era [2001], Anonymous: Enigmatic Images by Unknown Photographers [2004] and The Face in the Lens: Enigmatic Images of People by Unknown Photographers [2009].