Joshua Johnson, ca. (1763–ca. 1824)

• Was an American painter from the Baltimore area of African and European ancestry.
• Johnson is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents.
• 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.

• Johnson received his freedom in 1782 and began advertising, identifying himself as a portrait painter and limner as of 1796.

• He moved frequently, residing often where other artists.

• No records mention educational or creative training and it still has not been proven that he had any type of relationship with artists such as the Peale family, Ralph Earl, or Ralph Earl Jr.

• Catholic Church records show that in 1785 he married his first wife, Sarah, with whom he had four children.

• By 1803 he was married to a woman named Clara.

• According to the Baltimore city directory of 1817–1818 he was listed in the section "Free Householders of Colour"; in 1825 he had moved to Frederick County, Maryland, and two years later moved to Anne Arundel County.

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