Artist Jasper Johns died of a heart attack earlier this morning in his home in Sharon, Connecticut at the age of 86.
Johns had become one of the most accomplished living artists of this century; President Barak Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. He had also been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Johns was known for being versatile, succeeding in painting, sculpting, and printmaking.
His most well-known piece of artwork is Flag. This piece had been praised throughout his career, as it disrupted the art world at a time when Warhol’s Abstract Impressionism and Pop Art style was popular. From his unique style of art, Johns was said to be one of the founding artists of the style Neo Dadaism.
After creating Flag, Johns struggled with self-conflict with his career, as he ended up destroying all other pieces of artwork he created before Flag.
Johns was very active in the art community during his life. He worked on multiple collaborations with fellow Neo Dada artist Robert Rauschenberg, as well as Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Johns founded the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in 1963.
Johns’work is known for being extremely popular within the art collector’s community. His highest selling piece, False Start, sold in a private auction for 80 million dollars in 2006. White Flag, sold to the New York Museum of Metropolitan Art for 20 million dollars in 1998.
Johns funeral is being held this Saturday in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia.
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