A plan for the Johnson Publishing Co. photo archives is taking shape

2020-03-11T14:40:00-04:00

A nonprofit consortium consisting of the Getty Research Institute, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution has taken another step toward preserving the photo archives of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago.

A press release published by the group indicates that the consortium has created an Advisory Council that will "inform the preservation and future use of the historic photographic collection," which contains some 3.35 million negatives and slides, 983,000 photographs, 166,000 contact sheets, and 9,200 audio and visual recordings. The collection, according to the group, is "the most significant collection illustrating African American life in the 20th century."

Previously on Archinect: "Consortium Led by Getty Trust Purchases "Ebony" and "Jet" Photo Archives." Photograph of Ebony editor Lerone Bennett working in his office at the Johnson Publishing Compa...

Consortium Led by Getty Trust Purchases "Ebony" and "Jet" Photo Archives

2019-07-25T14:22:00-04:00

The Chicago-based company Johnson Publishing, which filed for bankruptcy in April, has sold the archive of images from Ebony and Jet Magazine to the J. Paul Getty Trust, which, according to court documents filed Wednesday night, paid $28.5 million at auction in the Windy City yesterday. The archive includes millions of iconic images of African American figures like Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., and Billie Holiday.

A consortium led by the Getty Foundation has acquired the iconic Ebony and Jet magazine archives. The group includes the Ford Foundation, the Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Julie Bosman of The New York Times reported via Twitter that the group has pledged to donate the archive to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Getty Research Institute so that its contents can become available to the public, researchers, and scholars. The acquisition is pending court approval and the closing of the sale.

In a press release announcing the sale, Ford Foundation president Darren Walker said, “We’re thrilled with the outcome. This archive is a national treasure and one of tremendous importance to the telling of black history in America. We felt it was imperative to preserve these images, to give them the exposure they deserve and make them readily available to the public.”

In 2018, Chicago-based Rebuild Foundation a...

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A plan for the Johnson Publishing Co. photo archives is taking shape

Consortium Led by Getty Trust Purchases "Ebony" and "Jet" Photo Archives