JOHNSON Bruce

JOHNSON Bruce Henderson

A person smoking a pipe Description automatically generated                      Weekend Magazine, 21 February 1970: 7.

Born 1926 in Toronto.

In 1960 he was a member of the Toronto Art Directors Club.

He was producing illustrations for Maclean’s at least from the early 1950’s to the early 1960’s and for Weekend from the early 1960’s into the 1970’s. He is reputed to also be doing work for the Montreal Star. He moved to Québec in February1959. Which appears to be about the time that Maclean’s stopped its extensive use of illustrators. In February 1970, Bruce lived 50 miles southwest of Montréal in Franklin Centre in a red brick house built in 1830 and worked in a barn he converted to a studio. He visited the city about once a week.

The series of paintings called “The Face Of Winter” was inspired by a snow storm that hit Montréal in November 1968. It took him twelve hours to get home, a trip is usually a hour drive. The front cover is a view of people crossing Dominion Square in Montréal as Brian saw it from a hotel room window about 8:45 am on a cold February 1959 morning.

He returned to Ontario in his later years and died 1996 in Port Hope Ontario.

WORK:

ILLUSTRATOR:

BOOK TEXT:

Content history:

Canada’s First Bank. Writ., Merrill Denison. McClelland & Stewart, 1966. Painting: “Beaver Club Members Honour Lord Dalhousie”: 55. Part of a group of artists: Lorne Bouchard, Douglas Johnson, Will Davies, William Kurelek, Henry Simpkins, Stuart Main, Gerald L. Sevier, Roy Hewitson , James Walker, Jack Tremblay, Fred Oakley, Don Anderson, Franklin Arbuckle, Alex Taylor, Tom McNeely, Lewis Parker, Huntley Brown, Jerry Lazare commissioned for this work.

PERIODICAL TEXT:

Content advertisement:

Maclean’s, 1 June 1951: Imperial Oil Ltd.

Content essay:

Maclean’s, 15 May 1954: “Look At What Utter Boredom Can Do”. Writ., Frank Croft: 18-19.

Maclean’s, 25 June 1955: “How the Prairies were made”. Writ., Fred Bodsworth: 26-27, 28-29.

Maclean’s, 26 November 1955: “The Ghostly Sentinel of the Peaks”. Writ., Howard O’Hagan: 30, 31.

Maclean’s, 21 June 1958: “The secret life of a pond”. Writ., Franklin Russell: 20, 21.

Maclean’s, 22 November 1958: “The biggest fall fair of them all”. Writ., Richard O’Hagan: 32-33.

Weekend Magazine, 31 May 1969: “An Angler Is A Dedicated Man”. Writ., Greg Clark: 12-13.

Weekend Magazine, 9 Sept.1972: “A Whale For The Killing, pt. 1” Writ., Farley Mowat: 2-3, 4, 5.

Weekend Magazine, 16 September 1972: “A Whale For The Killing, pt. 2”: 10-11, 12.

Weekend Magazine, 25 November 1972: “At the oldest country fair in North America [Hants County Nova Scotia]”. Writ., Ernest Hillen: 2-3, 4.

Content paintings:

Weekend Magazine, 52, 1966: “Christmas In The Country”: 12-13, 14, 15.

Weekend Magazine, 8 January 1972: Images only: 3, 4.

Content paintings & Cover front:

Weekend Magazine, 21 February 1970: “The Face Of Winter”: 4-6.

Weekend Magazine, 19 December 1970: “Not A Creature Was Stirring”: Writ., Paul Rush: 4-7. A humourous Christmas story with Bruce Johnson as the central character.

Content history:

Maclean’s, 1 June 1953: “The Strange Rites Of Royalty”. Writ., Unidentified: 12, 13.

Maclean’s, 8 December 1956: “The tragic case of the man who played Jesus”. Writ., Alan Phillips: 22.

Maclean’s, 14 September 1957: “How George Washington lost Canada”. Writ., T. H. Raddall: 34-35.

Maclean’s, 8 November 1957: “David Thompson’s lonely crusade to open the west”. Writ., Frank Croft: 32-33.

Maclean’s, 15 February 1958: “Canada’s last great train robbery”. Writ., Robert Collins: 20, 21.

Maclean’s, 1 June 1963: “Manhunt!”. Writ., Tim Burke: 25-27.

Content novel:

Maclean’s …: “The Alien: …”. Writ., W. O. Mitchell: ….*
… 15 September 1953: “… Ch. 1, The pilgrimage into Paradise” ….: 8-9.

… 1 October !953: “… Ch. 2, The first great crisis” …:14-15.

… 15 October 1953: “… Ch. 3, The Lure of the Big Parade”…: 22-23.

…1 November 1953: “… Ch. 4, She’s Special, That One …: 16-17.

… 15 November 1953: “Ch. 5, The Time of Grabbing Hold”…: 24-25.

… 1 December 1953: “Ch. 6, She could have been mine” …: 24-25.

… 15 December 1953: “Ch. 7, Was Victoria To Blame?” …: 30-31.

… 1 January 1954: “Ch. 8, Two women, two heartbreaks” …: 22, 23.

… 15 January 1954: “Conclusion, The Message of the Drums” …: 24.

*It was later published in book form as The Vanishing Point but lacked the illustrations.

Content story:

Maclean’s, 1 January 1951: “A letter from a girl called Elsie”. Writ., John Watson: 16-17.

Maclean’s, 15 April 1953: “The Long Night”. Writ., Vera Johnson: 14, 15

Maclean’s, 1 July 1953: “The keys to the car”. Writ., Fred Sloman: 18-19.

Maclean’s, 15 August 1953: “The Silent Star of Stratford”. Writ., Vera Johnson: 12, 13.

Maclean’s, 1 June 1954: “Shopping For Death”. Writ., Ray Bradbury: 24, 25.

Maclean’s, 1 July 1954: “Catherine and the Winter Wheat”. Writ., B. Hughes: 20-21.

Maclean’s, 15 October1954: “What On Earth Happened To Fred”. Writ., John Barrett: 24-25.

Cover front:

Maclean’s, 15 August 1954.

WRITER, ILLUSTRATOR:

Content memoir:

Weekend Magazine, 6 June 1970: “Everything Was Fine Till I Put The Water In”: 16-18.

Weekend Magazine, 23 October 1971: “I Only Wanted 10,000 Old Bricks”: 8,10,12.

SOURCE:

Article periodical:

Weekend Magazine, 21 February 1970: “The Face Of Winter”: 4, 6.                                                                                                  “Life in the country”: 7.

Internet:

https://www.askart.com/artist/Bruce_Henderson_Johnson/11285771/Bruce_Henderson_Johnson.aspx. Accessed 16 January 2025.

GALLERY:

A painting of a tree in the snow Description automatically generatedA group of children sitting in a chair Description automatically generatedWeekend Magazine, 52, 1966:15.

A painting of people climbing a wall Description automatically generatedWeekend Magazine, 23 October 1971: 8.