Artist Pubs
Joshua (Johnston) Johnson

Auction Records (19)   For Sale (0)   Bio/Info   Free Alerts  
Upcoming (0) Wanted (1) Related Artists (5) Pricing my art
Charts (6) Dealers (2) Signatures (1)
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



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Facts about Joshua (Johnston) Johnson

   Publications  Book References:  57
Magazine References:  9

The listed publications are derived from what askART has identified from our research for this artist and are intended as an additional tool for information. askART has derived Publications as an aid to members, but it is not necessarily a complete list.
9 Miscellaneous Magazine References for Joshua (Johnston) Johnson
Magazine Article Date Author Color
The Magazine Antiques Transatlantic Currents: Paintings at Mesda January 2007 McInnis, Maurie D. Yes
ARTnews The Rise of African American Art September 2003 Kinsella, Eileen Yes
Art & Antiques The Top 100 Collectors in America March 2003 Cochran, B.L. and R.D Yes
The Magazine Antiques Museum Accessions November 2002 Gustafson, Eleanor H. Yes
The Magazine Antiques Current and Coming August 2000 Editors, Magazine Antiques Yes
American Art Review Evolution of African-American Art August 2000 Hampton, R Kumasi Yes
Art & Auction Date Book January 2000 Editors Yes
Art & Auction Eye on American October 1997 Editors, Art & Auction Yes
The Magazine Antiques Museum Accessions November 1995 Gustafson, Eleanor H Yes
57 Book References for Joshua (Johnston) Johnson
Year Author Title Pages Color
2005 AskART.com Inc. -
Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor)		 The Artists Bluebook 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005 479 No
2005 Burgard, Timothy Anglin; Daniell Cornell Masterworks of American Painting at the De Young (De Young Museum) 573 Yes
2005 Davenport, Ray Davenport's Art Reference: The Gold Edition 2421 No
2000 Cuthbert, John A. Early Art and Artists in West Virginia 301 Yes
1999 Falk, Peter Hastings (Editor) Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: Three Volumes 3724 No
1996 Barbara and Peter Toohil Accents on Artists A fact-filled pronunciation guide. Over 800 artist’s names you should know… 363 Yes
1994 Caldwell, John/Oswaldo Roque American Paintings/Metropolitan Mus V 1, Artists Born by 1815 628 No
1994 Craven, Wayne American Art History and Culture 687 Yes
1994 San Antonio Museum of Art African American Art
(Exhibition catalog)		 67 Yes
1993 Bearden, Romare/Harry Henderson A History-African-American Artists From 1792 to the Present 542 Yes
1993 Ketner, Joseph D Emergence of the African-American Artist/Robert S Duncanson 1821-1872 233 Yes
1993 Perry, Regina A Free Within Ourselves: African-American Artists in the Collection of the National Museum of American Art 203 Yes
1992 Chotner, Deborah American Naive Paintings (National Gallery Collection)
(Exhibition catalog)		 668 Yes
1992 Danly, Susan Facing the Past 19th Century Portraits from Pennsylvania Academy 104 Yes
1992 National Gallery of Art American Paintings An Illustrated Catalogue
(Exhibition catalog)		 545 No
1990 Gerdts, William H Art Across America: New England, New York, Mid-Atlantic (Volume One) 421 Yes
1990 McElroy, Guy C Facing History The Black Image in American Art 1710-1940
(Exhibition catalog)		 190 Yes
1988 Falk, Peter Hastings Dictionary of Signatures & Monogram 556 No
1988 Wilmerding, John American Masterpieces (revised) from the National Gallery of Art 208 Yes
1987 Weekley, Carolyn J (others) Joshua Johnson (Johnston) Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter
(Exhibition catalog)		 173 Yes
1986 Zellman, Michael David 300 Years of American Art (two volumes) 1102 Yes
1985 Hartigan, Lynda R Sharing Traditions Five Black Artists in 19th Century America
(Exhibition catalog)		 120 Yes
1984 Johns, Elizabeth; William Elder III, Josephine Withers, et all Maryland: 350 Years of Art & Architecture (University of Maryland Architecture Department Art Gallery
(Exhibition catalog)		 248 No
1984 Walker, John National Gallery of Art, Washington New and Revised Edition
(Exhibition catalog)		 606 Yes
1983 Johnston, Sona K American Painting 1750-1900 from the Baltimore Museum of Art 187 Yes
1983 Poesch, Jessie The Art of the Old South: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture and the Products of Craftsmen 384 Yes
1983 Virginia Museum, Richmond Painting in the South: 1564-1980
(Exhibition catalog)		 362 Yes
1982 Hirschl & Adler Galleries Lines of Different Character Americn Art from 1727 to 1947
(Exhibition catalog)		 106 Yes
1981 Newark Museum American Art in the Newark Museum Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture 431 Yes
1981 Rugoff, Milton The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art 669 Yes
1981 Rumford, Beatrix American Folk Portraits from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center 295 Yes
1981 Simmons, Linda Crocker Charles Peale Polk A Limner and His Likenesses
(Exhibition catalog)		 92 No
1980 Wilmerding, John American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art 180 Yes
1979 Baigell, Mathew Dictionary of American Art 390 No
1979 Bishop, Robert Folk Painters of America 255 Yes
1979 Karpel, Bernard/Ruth Spiegel Arts in America/A Bibliography Volume 2 (Painting and Graphics) 736 No
1978 Lewis, Samella Art: African American 246 Yes
1977 Grigsby, Eugene Jr. Art & Ethnics Background for Teaching Youth in a Pluralistic Society 147 No
1976 Anderson, Dennis R (Introductory Essay) Three Hundred Years of American Art In The Chrysler Museum
(Exhibition catalog)		 270 Yes
1976 Driskell, David C Two Centuries of Black American Art
(Exhibition catalog)		 221 Yes
1976 Tillou, Peter Where Liberty Dwells 19th Century Art by the American People
(Exhibition catalog)		 114 Yes
1976 Tracy, Berry and Howat, John A Bicentennial Treasury American Masterpieces from the Metropolitan 82 Yes
1975 Driskell, David C Amistad II Afro-American Art
(Exhibition catalog)		 92 No
1975 Ebert, John and Katherine American Folk Painters 225 Yes
1975 Schaeffer, Clifford W The Gift of American Naive Painting 48 Masterpieces, W Chrysler Garbisch Collection 68 No
1974 Gidley, Mick Catalogue of American Paintings in British Public Collections 58 No
1973 Cederholm, Theresa Dickason Afro-American Artists: A Bio-Bibliographical Directory 348 No
1973 Fine, Elsa Honig The Afro-American Artist A Search for Identity 310 Yes
1972 Bearden, Romare/H Henderson Six Black Masters of American Art 120 Yes
1966 Larkin, Oliver W Art and Life in America Revised and Enlarged Edition 559 Yes
1961 Rorimer, James/JohnWalker 101 Masterpieces of Primitive American Painting
(Exhibition catalog)		 159 Yes
1960 Dover, Cedric American Negro Art 186 Yes
1950 Barker, Virgil American Painting History and Interpretation 715 No
1949 Art Institute of Chicago From Colony to Nation (Exhibition US works to War of 1812)
(Exhibition catalog)		 140 No
1945 Baltimore Museum of Art Two Hundred and Fifty Years (of) Painting in Maryland
(Exhibition catalog)		 78 No
1943 Porter, James A Modern Negro Art 272 No
1940 Carnegie Institute Survey of American Painting
(Exhibition catalog)		 320 No
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