John Seward Johnson II
John Seward Johnson II (April 16, 1930 – March 10, 2020), also known as J. Seward Johnson Jr. and Seward Johnson, was an American artist known for "trompe-l'œil" painted bronze statues. He was a grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson, and of Colonel Thomas Melville Dill of Bermuda. He designed life-size bronze statues that were castings of living people, depicting them engaged in day-to-day activities. A large staff of technicians did the fabrication of the works he designed. Computers and digital technology often were used in the  manufacturing process. Sometimes the manufacture was contracted in China. He was the founder of Grounds For Sculpture, a sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. Early life. Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on April 16, 1930. His father was John Seward Johnson I, and his mother was Ruth Dill, the sister of actress Diana Dill, making him a first cousin of actor Michael Douglas. Johnson grew up with five siblings: Mary Lea Johnson Richards, Elaine Johnson, Diana Melville Johnson, Jennifer Underwood Johnson, and James Loring "Jimmy" Johnson. His parents divorced around 1937 . His father remarried two years later, producing his only brother, Jimmy Johnson, making him an uncle to film director Jamie Johnson. Johnson attended Forman School for dyslexics. Later, he attended the University of Maine, where he majored in poultry husbandry, but did not graduate. Johnson also served four years in the United States Navy during the Korean War. Career. Johnson worked for Johnson & Johnson until 1962, when he was fired by his uncle Robert Wood Johnson II, who had turned the family business into one of the world's largest healthcare corporations. Johnson maintained a studio in Princeton, New Jersey  and later, another at a site in Mercerville, New Jersey that formerly had been used for the New Jersey State Fair. His early artistic efforts focused on painting, after which he turned to sculpture in 1968. Examples of his statues include: