It was not until 1939 that the identity of the painter of elite late 18th- and early 19th-century Baltimoreans was discovered by
art historian and
genealogist J. Hall Pleasants, who believed that a man named Joshua Johnson painted a number of portraits, including thirteen attributed works. Pleasants attempted to put the puzzle of Johnson's life together; however, questions on Johnson's race, life dates, and even his last name (Johnson or Johnston) remained up until the mid-1990s, when the
Maryland Historical Society released newly-found manuscripts regarding Johnson's life. Documents dated 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 (also spelled Johnston in some documents), purchased Joshua, age 19, from William Wheeler, a small Baltimore-based farmer, confirmed by a
bill of sale dating from October 6, 1764. Wheeler sold Johnson the young man for £25, half the average price of an enslaved male field hand at the time. The documents state little of Joshua's mother, not even her name, and she may have been enslaved by Wheeler, whose own records stated that he enslaved two women, one of whom had two children.
Freedom 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, specifically
chair-makers, lived, which suggests that he may have provided extra income for himself by painting chairs. His frequent moving also may indicate that he tended to work for clients near whom he lived. No records mention educational or creative training, and it still has not been proven that he had any 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 – two sons and two daughters, the latter of whom both died young. 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, again, following the paths of those whose portraits he painted. Little is known of his life after this final move or of his death. ==Artistic career and style==