johnson was born july 28 1882 in new york city to laura mott riverdale and alfred van cleve johnson, a presbyterian minister. her grandfather was the classical scholar ebenezer alfred johnson. her mother died two years after she was born, so she and her seven siblings were raised by her father. her early years were spent being home-schooled on a farm in yonkers, new york. she began drawing when she was four years old, and when the family moved to a farm in 1900 she enjoyed sketching horses and other farm animals. at the age of 22, she left home to study at the art students' league with sculptors gutzon borglum and james earle fraser, and also attended birge harrison's painting class in woodstock. throughout her career she would sculpt animals from memory, as she was adamant that animals could not be sketched. she would often attend circuses and farms for inspiration. in fact, for many summers she followed traveling circuses to observe the animals.