Sunday, January 31

Frances Benjamin Johnston


Self-Portrait as a Bohemian Woman, 1896


Theodore Roosevelt Jr. with His Parrot Eli in the White House Conservatory, 1902


Sioux Indian Chiefs with William Jennings Bryan at the Pan American Exposition, 1901


Lower Falls of Yellowstone, 1903


The Veiled Woman, 1896


A Miner, 1903

Frances Benjamin Johnston was one of the earliest female photographers in America. She was well-known for her portraits and documentary work. In 1895, she opened her own photographic studio in Washington D.C., taking portraits of the rich & famous of her time such as Susan B. Anthony, Mark Twain, and Booker T. Washington. Her self-portrait shown above, Self-Portrait as a Bohemian Woman, is one of her most controversial portraits, showing three symbols of rebellion. Back in 1896, proper Victorian women were not supposed to smoke cigarettes, drink beer, or show off their petticoats.

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