Art for Health and Wellness has been initiated with a donation of fine art reproductions by Cecile Ryden Johnson, a twentieth-century American watercolorist who embraced the “plein air” tradition of artists who left their studios for the “open air” and painted in natural settings directly from nature. With her transparent watercolors, action sketches and oils, Johnson gained worldwide recognition for capturing the unique beauty and feeling of natural color, light and shade of locations in the United States and around the world.  She was also a renown painter of sports, including Winter Olympic events, world championships in skiing, tennis, and ice skating, as well as horse racing, ballooning, sailing and golf.

Over 100 of Cecile Johnson’s paintings have published as high quality prints.  Many of the prints were produced in series including prints of the Caribbean, European cities, mountains, ski resorts and floral still-life. Her career, biography and a gallery of her works are posted on her website. 

Cecile Johnson’s paintings embody the central principals and themes recommended for promoting health:

•   Waterscapes (calm or non-turbulent water)

•   Landscapes (with visual depth or open foreground, trees with broad canopy, savannah landscapes, verdant vegetation and/or positive cultural artifacts)

•   Flowers (familiar, healthy and fresh, in natural settings with open foreground)

•   Figurative Art (depicting emotionally positive faces, diverse and leisurely in nature)

Cecile Johnson’s paintings captured these themes as core elements of her art and have been used in many settings to help create a healing atmosphere. Images supporting these themes are available through the Art for Health & Wellness Program.