In 1880, West Virginia woman entered photography when few women could build careers. 20 years later, she was photographing US presidents

In an era when professional careers were rarely encouraged for women, Frances Benjamin Johnston carved out a remarkable place behind the camera. She photographed US presidents, political figures and socialites, but her ambitions went far beyond portraits of the powerful. Her lens also documented factory workers, farmers, coal miners and African American students. By 1900, her work had reached the Paris Exposition, helping establish Johnston as one of America's pioneering female photographers.

Frances Benjamin Johnston's journey into photography

According to the Library of Congress, Frances Benjamin Johnston was one of the first American women to achieve prominence as a photographer. Born in 1864, she was trained at the Académie Julian in Paris before returning to Washington, D.C., where she studied photography in the mid-1880s.

Her entry into photography came at a time when women had limited opportunities to establish independent professional careers. Yet Johnston pursued the field seriously and opened a professional studio around 1890. Her family's social position proved useful in the early stages of her career. It gave Johnston access to the First Family and prominent Washington political figures, helping launch her work as both a photojournalist and portrait photographer, according to the Library of Congress.

George Eastman gave her a Kodak camera

Johnston's career was also shaped by a technological revolution taking place around her. According to the National Park Service, the spread of magazine subscriptions coincided with major developments in photography, including the introduction of the Kodak No. 1, one of the first cameras to use roll film. In 1887, George Eastman gifted Johnston a Kodak No. 1. She subsequently began studying photography under Thomas Smillie at the Smithsonian.

Despite receiving formal training, Johnston later offered an unusual explanation for her success. She reportedly believed that her “ignorance of the subject” had helped her because she did not know what could not be done. That willingness to experiment became an important part of her career as she pushed beyond conventional portrait photography.

From presidents and socialites to ordinary Americans

Johnston quickly gained access to some of the most influential people in America. Presidents, socialites and captains of commerce sat before her camera, giving her an opportunity to document the political and social elite of the era. By 1900, she had photographed presidents including William McKinley and Grover Cleveland.

But Johnston did not want her photography to remain limited to portraits of powerful people. She also turned her attention to the lives of ordinary Americans. Her photographs documented factory workers, farmers, coal miners and African American students, bringing their experiences into the frame. According to PBS, her work reflected a generation of women who were increasingly choosing independent careers instead of simply following the conventional paths expected of them.

Her camera, therefore, did more than record faces. It captured different layers of American life at a time when the country was undergoing enormous social and industrial change.

Frances Benjamin Johnston photographed a changing America

The Library of Congress notes that Johnston also documented Progressive Era educational efforts, including a survey of schools in Washington, D.C., as well as minority educational institutions such as the Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute.

The breadth of her work made her an important visual chronicler of America during a period of rapid transformation. Her photographs provide a window into the country's political institutions, industries, schools and communities, while also revealing how Americans from very different backgrounds lived.

She later turned her camera toward architecture and gardens

Johnston's career did not stop with photojournalism and portraits. According to the Library of Congress, she turned increasingly toward garden and estate photography during the 1910s. She also became one of the early contributors to the Library's Pictorial Archives of Early American Architecture.