John Johnson (photographer)

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John Johnson (1879-1953) was an American photographer known for his contributions in the 20th century. His works are considered one of the pieces of photographic evidence that displayed the African Americans in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Life[edit]

Johnson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1879, to Harriet Johnson and Margaret Johnson. Both of his parents were escaped slaves, and his father, Harriet was a civil war veteran.^[1] He graduated from Lincoln High in 1899 and then studied at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He never completed his degree but attended the university for several semesters and played football for the school. After his time at the university, he worked as a janitor^[2] and a drayman before he began his career in photography. He married Odessa Prince in 1819; the couple had no children and died in 1953.

Photography[edit]

Johnson's photography career started in 1910 and is believed to have ended around 1926.^[3] He took photos in bigger cities throughout the Midwest, such as Kansas City, Omaha, NE, and his hometown of Lincoln NE.^[4] He was most noted for his black and white photographs having great contrast, and his ability to utilize natural lighting in his photos. His photography often included family portraits and was mostly photographed in families homes or on the porches, or outside of their homes.^[5] It is recorded that he captured over 500 photographs during his time as a photographer.^[6] He also made many glass plate negatives, which highlighted his spectacular photography skills. The subjects he photographed were often buildings, parades, but mostly family portraits of black families. At the time black citizens were only seen in photography in a way that showed them being poor and treated as inferior citizens. Johnson did his work differently.^[7] He often showed the families he photographed in a way that showed how well educated they were, and proud citizens. He did this by including books in the portraits, having the subjects dress well, and pose in ways that appeared proud.

Legacy[edit]

Johnson's photos fit into the ideology and time period of the Harlem Renaissance, or New Negro Movement.^[8] The Harlem renaissance was a revival of confidence, and culture among African Americans. By showing black Americans in a proud light, it encouraged confidence and self-expression among these citizens, and Johnson's work is some of the earliest evidence we have of this ideology.

Johnson's work was largely forgotten until historians found some of Johnson's glass negatives in 1999, which were connected to a collection of more negatives belonging to Douglas Keister. Keister purchased the negatives at a garage sale and kept them for years and made the connection to Johnson's work when he read an article by the Lincoln journal star talking about the negatives historians had found.^[9] Originally historians had thought the work belonged to Earl McWilliams (a photography assistant at a studio in Lincoln), but after talking to an elderly woman in Lincoln they discovered the work to be Johnson's. Johnson's work has been displayed about in museums, such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Museum of Nebraska Art.^[10]

Exhibitions[edit]

• A Greater Spectrum: African American Artists of Nebraska 1912-2010, on view at the Museum of Nebraska Art from December 4, 2010 to April 3, 2011.^[11]
• Black and White in Black and White exhibit, on view at the Greeley History Museum Feb 17 to May 28th, 2022.^[12]
• Recovered Views-African American Portraits 1912-1925, on view at Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery September 1 to October 5, 2006^[13]
• Recovered Views: African-American Portraits, 1912–1925, on view at SUNY Fredonia March 31 to April 25, 2008.^[14]

References[edit]