Raymond Jonson: Pioneer of Southwestern Abstraction Raymond Jonson (July 18, 1891 – May 10, 1982), was an American-born modernist painter renowned for his evocative depictions of the American Southwest. Born Carl Raymond Johnson in Chariton, Iowa, he initially signed his paintings as C. Raymond Johnson but later adopted Raymond Jonson, reflecting a deliberate return to a more traditional spelling of his surname. This seemingly simple stylistic choice encapsulates a broader trajectory—a journey from meticulous observation of nature to bold experimentation with abstract expressionism, establis…