James C. Farley

James Conway Farley (August 10, 1854 – after 1910) was a photographer in Richmond, Virginia. He was the proprietor of the Jefferson Fine Arts Gallery from 1895 into the 1900s. He is known as the first nationally recognized African-American photographer.

Early life James Conway Farley was born a slave in Prince Edward County, Virginia, on August 10, 1854. Both of his parents were slaves. In 1861 he moved with his mother to Richmond, Virginia in 1861, where she worked as a store-room keeper at the Columbia Hotel and he assisted in candle-making and learned to read. He later was apprenticed to the baker's trade, but quit and took work in the chemical department of the C. R. Rees photography company.

Career Mechanics Savings Bank Board of Directors, Farley is second from the right in the back row. In May 1875, Farley became a photographer for G. W. Davis against the opposition of the other four employees, all of whom were white. Davis supported Farley and discharged the other four. The firm continued to have difficulty hiring white people, but Farley grew in skill and in 1879 was operator of the gallery. Farley's work was widely exhibited, including at the Colored Industrial Fair in Richmond in 1884, Farley was a delegate to the May 1902 Virginia Baptist State Convention where he spoke in favor of black businesses. Farley was a member of the board of directors of the Mechanics Savings Bank of Richmond led by Richmond Planet editor John Mitchell, Jr. in the 1900s. A number of Farley's photographs appeared in the Planet.

Legacy Farley is known as the first black American to gain recognition as a photographer. Few of Farley's works survive, and one remaining is held in the Valentine Museum in Richmond.

Gallery