Photo of the Johnston family: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A photograph of the Johnston family. Starting to the left of the photograph depicts a tall woman in a white dress smiling looking directly into the camera. To the right of her is a man wearing a suit and bowtie. He has a mustache and is holding a cigarette or cigar in his right hand. To his right is a shorter woman also smiling and in a white dress looking directly into the camera. To the right of her is a young boy in a dark suit with only his top button buttoned and a bowtie around his neck. Behind him and slightly to the right is a man looking towards his right smiling. He is in a dark suit and wearing a dark necktie. To the right of him is a man wearing a white naval uniform looking towards his left smiling with both hands behind his back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1949
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Dr. Albert C. Johnston, American, 1900 - 1988
• Subject of: Thyra A. Johnston, American, 1903 - 1995
• Subject of: Albert Chandler Johnston Jr., American, 1925 - 2014
• Subject of: Anne Baumann Breen, American, 1930 - 2004
• Subject of: Paul Johnston, American, born 1935
• Subject of: Donald Vincent Johnston, American, 1929 - 2007
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 8 1/2 × 11 in. (21.6 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W: 7 3/4 × 10 5/16 in. (19.7 × 26.2 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Colorism
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: Independent films
• Topic: Segregation
• Object number: 2013.118.55
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.