Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: Plowing and reaping by progressive Indian. 1899 - 1900

Curator: Looking at Frances Benjamin Johnston's photograph, "Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: Plowing and reaping by progressive Indian," I’m struck by the formal composition. It’s a landscape depicting haystacks next to a building. Editor: It feels somber to me, all that gray. Those haystacks feel huddled, almost yearning. I’m intrigued by the way the fields fade into the horizon—it’s very dreamlike. Curator: Right. Johnston's work often documented education and industry; this image likely reflects the Hampton Institute’s focus on agricultural training for Native American students. The means of production are front and center. Editor: I see that now, but initially I saw just the isolation of the landscape. Knowing its background, it adds layers of meaning—labor, assimilation, maybe even a bit of loss? Curator: Exactly. The choice of subject emphasizes the intersection of race, labor, and education, revealing the complexities of American history through a material lens. Editor: So, what started as a bleak landscape now feels like a complex tapestry. Thanks for pulling back the layers! Curator: Indeed. Johnston’s work invites a deep consideration of the systems at play in the making of America.