Portrait of an African American Man 1820

Joshua Johnson, an early American painter, made this oil-on-canvas portrait of an African American man. The subject’s clothing gives us clues about the painting’s meaning. He wears a black coat with gold buttons, a white shirt and cravat. These details point to a desire for upward mobility, for social recognition in a society still marked by inequality and prejudice. This portrait speaks volumes about the complex and evolving social fabric of the United States. The details, from the sitter’s gaze to the depiction of a ship in the background, invite us to consider the aspirations and lived experiences of African Americans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Historians use city directories, census records, and bills of sale to understand the conditions in which art like this was made and received. We also look at the biographies of artists and patrons, and at the institutional histories of art academies and exhibition spaces.