Joshua Johnson. Joshua Johnson was an American painter from the Baltimore area of African and European ancestry.
Johnson is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents. It was not until 1939 that the identity of the painter of elite 19th-century Baltimoreans was discovered by art historian and genealogist J. Hall Pleasants, who believed that thirteen portraits were painted by one Joshua Johnson.
Pleasants attempted to put the puzzle of Johnson's life together; however, questions on Johnson's race, life dates and even his last name remained up until the mid-1990s, when the Maryland Historical Society released newly found manuscripts regarding Johnson's life. Documents dated from July 25, 1782, state that Johnson was the son of a white man and a black slave woman owned by a William Wheeler, Sr. His father, George Johnson purchased Joshua, age 19, from William Wheeler, a small Baltimore-based farmer, confirmed by a bill of sale dating from October 6, 1764.
Wheeler sold Johnson the young man for E25, half the average price of a male slave field hand at the time. The documents state little of Joshua's mother, not even her name, and she may have been owned by Wheeler, whose own records stated that he owned two female slaves, one of whom had two children.
A manumission was also released, in which George Johnson acknowledged Joshua as his son, also stating that he would agree to free
Johnson is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents. It was not until 1939 that the identity of the painter of elite 19th-century Baltimoreans was discovered by art historian and genealogist J. Hall Pleasants, who believed that thirteen portraits were painted by one Joshua Johnson.
Pleasants attempted to put the puzzle of Johnson's life together; however, questions on Johnson's race, life dates and even his last name remained up until the mid-1990s, when the Maryland Historical Society released newly found manuscripts regarding Johnson's life. Documents dated from July 25, 1782, state that Johnson was the son of a white man and a black slave woman owned by a William Wheeler, Sr. His father, George Johnson purchased Joshua, age 19, from William Wheeler, a small Baltimore-based farmer, confirmed by a bill of sale dating from October 6, 1764.
Wheeler sold Johnson the young man for E25, half the average price of a male slave field hand at the time. The documents state little of Joshua's mother, not even her name, and she may have been owned by Wheeler, whose own records stated that he owned two female slaves, one of whom had two children.
A manumission was also released, in which George Johnson acknowledged Joshua as his son, also stating that he would agree to free
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