Flashlight I, from 1st Etchings, 2nd State

1965

Affair with Susan Sontag

Johns has primarily had relationships with men, but in 1965 he had an affair with the writer Susan Sontag.

1967–1980

Artistic adviser to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Johns had long supported the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, helping to raise funds and attention and assisting Rauschenberg with set and costume designs in the 1950s, and from 1967 to 1980 he served as its artistic adviser.

27 June 1968 – 6 October 1968

Exhibition: 4. documenta

1968–1969

Romance with the poet John Giorno

From 1968 to 1969 Johns had a romance with the poet John Giorno.

1969

The only honorary degree he has accepted

In 1969 the University of South Carolina, where he had once studied, conferred on Johns an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, the only honorary degree he has accepted.