Painter-printmaker Ynez Johnston was born in 1920 in Berkeley, California. She studied drafting, painting, and printmaking at the University of California with Worth Ryder, Erle Loran, and Margaret Peterson. Johnston’s work is characterized by “jigsaw” shapes reminiscent of primitive designs. Her unique style blends modernism with ancient art forms from her travels to Italy, Mexico, India, and Nepal. She has also created 3-dimensional pieces in collaboration with her husband, poet and novelist John Berry, and with ceramic sculptor Adam Mekler.

Her watercolors, oils, and etchings from the 1950s and 1960s were rich in complex imagery and displayed a disciplined, somewhat restrained use of color.

The exhibition of her paintings and etchings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1951) launched her career as a successful artist.