Joshua Johnson: Portraitist of Federal Era Maryland

Explore the work of Joshua Johnson (ca. 1763‒1824) with Dr. Fulco as he discusses one of the nation’s first professional African American portraitists in the context of the Federal period. Johnson achieved a remarkable degree of success in his lifetime by painting affluent patrons in his native Baltimore. His subjects consisted of politicians, lawyers, doctors, clergymen, merchants, and sea captains. Given the artist’s background and the era in which he lived, Johnson was impelled to overcome many racial and social hurdles in pursuing his profession, and the fact that we continue to study his work today is a testament to his perseverance.

Daniel Fulco serves as Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. He is the curator of the exhibition Joshua Johnson: Portraitist of Early American Baltimore and edited its accompanying catalogue, both of which were supported by grants from the NEA, ADAA Foundation, and other donors. Dr. Fulco received his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was Distinguished Fellow from 2007‒2010. He is a scholar of European and American art from the 17^th to the 19^th centuries and has authored a book, numerous edited volume chapters, and articles.