Collection Connection

Learn more about art in one-hour presentations by regional experts. Free and open to the public. Ed Zimmer: John Johnson (1879 – 1953) Wednesday, October 25 • 2:00 p.m. John Johnson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1879, the son of a former slave who served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Johnson worked in Lincoln at the menial jobs available to African-Americans in the early 20th century, but was also a highly talented photographer, recording the lives of the local African-American community from his own perspective. MONA is fortunate to have recently acquired 33 of Johnson’s glass plate negatives, a gift from Lincoln Public Schools. Ed Zimmer has been the Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Lincoln Planning Department since 1985. From 1996 until 2015, he also served on the Board of Education of Lincoln Public Schools. A native of Omaha, he earned a Ph.D. in Architectural History from Boston University in 1984. His long-time interest in John Johnson has led to continuing research on this artist.