With only two years of formal art training from the University of South Carolina, Jasper Johns moved to New York City at the age of twenty-four. A southerner, Johns was born in Augusta, Georgia, and brought up in the Carolinas. He supported himself as a window decorator and a salesman in a Manhattan bookstore while painting during his spare time. Johns painted objects that were familiar to both him and his audience. He once stated, "Using the design of the American flag took care of a great deal for me because I didn't have to design it. So I went on to similar things like targets—things the mind already knows. That gave me room to work on other levels." The innovative way that Johns approached common subjects attracted the attention of art dealer Leo Castelli. Castelli was visiting Johns's upstairs neighbor and friend...