Jasper Johns

Known for: Flag (1954–55); the targets and numbers paintings

Jasper Johns began in 1954 making paintings of flags, targets, numbers, and maps — common, two-dimensional objects that existed in the world as images — in a practice that simultaneously referenced Abstract Expressionism and questioned its premises. His Flag (1954–55) is among the most discussed single paintings in postwar American art. He has worked consistently with encaustic, lithography, and sculptural forms alongside painting for more than 60 years.