Garage d'Art

For over three decades, the drivers who passed through the busy intersection of Gallows Road and Lee Highway in Northern Virginia were treated to the sight of a playful wonderland on the corner. Piled with whimsical statues and hung with odd artworks that hinted at simpler times, Johnston's Auto Paint and Body Works crossed a junkyard with a sculpture garden and an outsider art gallery for the delight of all who saw it. From the cement snowman in a corner balustrade to the painting of an Indian shooting a buffalo with a bow and arrow, the garage combined business and pleasure. Since Johnston's Garage was bulldozed in 2008 to accommodate a highway expansion, the 35 photos in this book are the only way to revisit its magic.