Artist Museums

Joshua (Johnston) Johnson

Joshua (Johnston) Johnson (1765 - 1830) was active/lived in Maryland.  Joshua Johnson is known for Naive family portrait painting, often with pets.

Reportedly America's first professional black artist that was a free man, Joshua Johnson, whose name is written both as Johnson and Johnston, was originally from the West Indies and then came to the American South.  He was an itinerant portrait painter among wealthy plantation owners in Maryland and Virginia, and his style was derived from the conventional English portrait style of bust-length poses and arranged backdrops.  His portrait figures are stiff, prim and flat in appearance, and quite often have a dog posed on the lap of the sitter.

He was the first known African-American professional portrait painter to work in the United States.  According to his advertisement in the Baltimore Intelligencer, December 19, 1798, he was a "self-taught genius."

He was listed in the Baltimore directory as a portrait painter, 1796 to 1824, and after 1824, his name disappears from public record.  Likely he was influenced by Charles Peale Polk,   ...  [Displaying 1000 of 7114 characters.]  Artist bio

Artist auction records

.  askART's database currently holds 19 auction lots for Joshua (Johnston) Johnson (of which 18 auction records sold and 0 are upcoming at auction.)

Artist artworks for sale and wanted

.  There are 0 artworks for sale on our website by galleries and art dealers . There are 2 galleries and art dealers listing works of art by Joshua (Johnston) Johnson as either "Wanted" or "For Sale" .

Research resources

.  askART lists Joshua (Johnston) Johnson in 1 of its research Essays. Joshua (Johnston) Johnson has 1 artist signature examples available in our database.

Similar artists

.  There are 5 similar (related) artists for Joshua (Johnston) Johnson available:    Ammi Phillips,  William Prior,  Jasper Francis Cropsey,  Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen,  Grandma Moses