Top rated Impression: “Portrait of Mrs. Barbara Baker Murphy (Wife of Sea Captain)”, ca. 1810
Joshua Johnson (or Johnston) was a painter born in 1763. There have been several speculations about his origins, such as if he was even African American at all. Even though there ended up no information of him becoming a former slave, several students consider that Johnson was biracial and was truthful more than enough to be mistakenly categorized as not African American.
As a painter, Johnson marketplaces himself as a self-taught artist, though it is possible that he nonetheless received some kind of teaching from the Peale relatives, who dominated the artwork scene in Baltimore wherever Johnson resides. His portrait paintings are flat, stiff, contained detailed outfits, and nearly always dealing with the exact same way. This is reminiscent of the type of Charles Peale Polk, which potential customers to the risk that Johnston was incredibly familiar with his operate and may have centered his fashion on him.
Nonetheless, Johnson is the first recorded African American to become a professional painter, with quite a few pursuing his footsteps to this day.
