Arnrid Banniza Johnston (1895 - 8 July 1972) was a Swedish sculptor and illustrator, who spent the majority of her life and career in Britain.

Biography

Johnston was born at

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla are ...

in Sweden, to a Swedish mother, Lily Ann, and an English father, Arthur Sannox Johnston, and was educated at a school in London at

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

. Remaining in London, between 1913 and 1920, she studied at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

where she won several prizes including, on two occasions, the

Feodora Gleichen Lady Feodora Georgina Maud Gleichen (20 December 1861 London – 22 February 1922 London) was a British sculptor of figures and portrait busts and designer of decorative objects. Background Born Countess Feodora Georgina Maud von Gleichen, ...

memorial prize for sculpture and also a two-year Slade scholarship. At the Slade she studied sculpture under

James Havard Thomas James Havard Thomas (22 December 1854 – 6 June 1921) was a Bristol-born sculptor active in London and Capri. He became the first Chair of Sculpture at the Slade School of Art in London. He was known for his painstakingly precise sculptures resu ...

. Johnston worked as a sculptor and carver in stone, wood and marble to produce animal and figure groups, reliefs and garden pieces. Her early sculptures included a large, three-sided carved obelisk in Portland stone of children and animals for the courtyard of Walton House in the

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

area of London, which took her four years to complete. In 2018,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

recognised the significance of the piece with a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listing. Other animal themed reliefs by Johnston included ''Cats on a Chimney Cowl'', ''Squirrels'' and ''Resting Horses''. She also painted and produced posters, notably several promoting travel to London Zoo for London Transport in 1930. During the 1930s and 1940s, Johnston wrote and illustrated up to twenty books for children, often on animal subjects and also illustrated works by other authors, notably ''The Little Black Calf'' by Kathleen Foyle. Johnston exhibited works at the

Goupil Gallery Goupil & Cie is an international auction house and merchant of contemporary art and collectibles. Jean-Baptiste Adophe Goupil founded Goupil & Cie in 1850. Goupil & Cie became a leading art dealership in 19th-century France, with its headquart ...

, the

Chenil Gallery The Chenil Gallery (often referred to as the Chenil Galleries, or New Chenil Galleries) was a British art gallery and sometime-music studio in Chelsea, London between 1905 and 1927, and later the location of various businesses referencing this ear ...

, at the

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

and with both the

London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

. Examples of her garden ornaments were included in the Garden Sculpture Exhibition held at

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

in Oxford Street in 1930. An exhibition of her work was held at Sally Hunter & Patrick Seale Fine Art in 1985. Her tapestry ''The Orchestra'' was included in that exhibition and is now held by

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the lat ...

while the

London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...

holds examples of her poster designs.

Books written and/ or illustrated

* ''Pigwiggen'', 1938 * ''Animal Families'', 1939, Country Life * ''Fables from Aesop and Others'', 1944, Transatlantic Arts * ''Animals We Use'', 1948, Methuen * ''The Little Black Calf'' by Kathleen Foyle * ''Les Fontaine's Fables'', an unfinished work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Arnrid 1895 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Swedish sculptors 20th-century Swedish women artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Swedish children's book illustrators Swedish poster artists Swedish women illustrators Swedish women sculptors Modern sculptors Women book artists Book artists Writers who illustrated their own writing