Artist on His Island: A Study in Self-Reliance

by Randolph Wardell Johnston

Hardcover with minor wear to dust cover, otherwise a very nice copy.

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self-Published book by Bahamian national artist Ran Johnston, and edited some by his son Denny. Johnston was a Canadian sculptor and artist, who as a young man moved permanently to a remote unpopulated island in the Bahamas. He carved out a home and studio under great challenge and hardship, raised a family, and was eventually honored as the National Artist of the Bahamas by the gov't. Lou Ann and I were in Little Harbour many years ago, and met him, and came home with a sculpture of Undine that we couldn't afford then, but still treasure and never regretted it. The book is written as a ship Captain's Log, and is a fun read. Amazon may have used copies. We bought ours in his studio.

[Mike Jeglic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story about the hardships and travails of building a new life from scratch. Anyone tempted to get away from it all, or planning a trip to the Abacos, Marsh Harbor or Little Harbor in the Bahamas, should give it a read.

[Emily Ockerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of my favorite books of all time. the journal of the man who founded little harbor in the abacos, bahamas. it is such a beautiful account of the environment here, of the resilience and creative inspiration of this man. thinking about how his dream grew to define part of the experience and culture of this place is incredible.

i'm literally re-reading while im here because i love it so much.

"sailing by day one inhabits a finite world. islands go by. ships approach and recede, rain clouds tower and burst. not so, the world of night: the stars tell of space and time utterly beyond human comprehension and give us an inkling of infinity and eternity. surrounded by darkness and space, a seaman on night watch reflects on man's loneliness in an infinity of physical space. the all-enveloping silence is only held at bay by the splashing of water and the hurrying of the wind."

[John Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnston left civilization in search of a dream and with discipline and hard work accomplished his goal and created an incredible community in the process. This book is incredible and I predict that it will become required reading in many places once more people discover it.