I believe this picture was taken between 1895 and 1901 by the Jefferson Fine Art Gallery, which was located at 523 East Broad Street in Richmond, Va.
About the Jefferson Art Gallary.
"Photography in Virginia" (2008), author Jeffrey Ruggles
"In August 1895 the Richmond Planet announced 'The New Gallery': 'Mr J C
Farley and Mr George O Brown have opened a high-class photograph gallery
at 523 E Broad St...Their palatial establishment is known as the
'Jefferson'.' The name echoed that of the grand new hotel that opened
the same year in Richmond. Though Brown and Farley were the main
figures, and featured by name in the advertisement in the Richmond
Planet, the manager for the first two directory listings in 1897 and
1898 was a white photographer named Churchill Webster. The gallery had
both white and black clientele, so whether Webster represented white
ownership of the gallery or was hired to make white customers fell
comfortable is not clear.
In 1899 Brown and Webster left the business. Farley stayed at the
Jefferson where he was listed as the manager beginning that year. In
1901 the Jefferson Photograph Co. was listed as 'colored', and one
assumes that Farley had finalized his purchase of the business. Through
1906 the Jefferson was listed at 523 East Broad with Farley as the
manager, until that location was taken over by the construction of the
Miller & Rhoads department store. Farley moved the gallery a block east
to 627 East Broad where it was listed through 1908. By 1909 the
Jefferson was no longer listed, and in 1910 Farley himself was absent
from the directory."
About James Conway Farley -
James Conway Farley is recognized as the first African American photographer. Photography became popular in the 1840s, but very few African Americans were involved in the early years of its introduction to the public. Farley overcame adversity and discrimination to master the photographic process and become a successful businessman.
In 1895, Farley started his own photography studio, the Jefferson Fine Arts Gallery. His gallery specialized in taking the photos of individuals and groups and converting them into greeting cards. Because of the excellent work that Farley produced, he was sought after by whites and African Americans.
No comments:
Post a Comment