Anne Michalov Johnson was born in Grundy County, Illinois on June 6, 1904. After studying at the Chicago Art Institute in the 1920's, she continued to produce paintings and lithographs and became employed by the various Federal Art Projects during the Depression. In Chicago, she produced 11 lithographs for the WPA as well as paintings and public murals.

Michalov moved to the northwest because of her husband's military service. In the early 1940's, she taught at the WPA Art Center in Spokane, Washington and lived briefly in Seattle during that period. Her works have been included in national and regional exhibitions including the 1939 New York World's Fair, Chicago Art Institute, 1939 Great Lakes Exhibition, Portland Art Museum and several others. Her works are included in numerous private and public collections including the Library of Congress, Newark Art Museum, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum, and the Chicago Art Institute.

Michalov's  lithographs are illustrated in the following publications: The Federal Art Project - American Prints From The 1930's, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; American Prints in the Collection of the Library of Congress, Karen F. Beal; American Art Today: The New York World's Fair, 1939 catalogue, reprinted in 1987; Encyclopedia of  Women Artists of the American West by Phil Kovinick, University of Texas Press.

Anne Michalov Johnson died in Portland, Oregon on December 29, 2001.