Vera Jackson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vera Ruth Jackson
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| Born | July 21, 1911 |
| Died | January 26, 1999 (aged 86) Corona, California, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Education |
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| Occupation | Photographer, Teacher |
| Spouse(s) | Vernon D. Jackson (1907–1983), m. 1931 |
| Children | 2 sons, Kerry and Kendall |
Vera Jackson (July 21, 1911 – January 26, 1999) was a "pioneer woman photographer in the black press". She photographed African-American social life and celebrity culture in 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles. Noted photographic subjects included major league baseball player Jackie Robinson, educator Mary McLeod Bethune, and actresses Dorothy Dandridge, Hattie McDaniel and Lena Horne.
Biography
Jackson was a freelance photographer with the California Eagle. Editor Charlotta Bass later hired her as a staff photographer and often paired her to work with society editor Jessie Mae Brown (later Jessie Brown Beavers) until Brown left for the Los Angeles Sentinel.
When Jackson left the California Eagle, she earned both her B.A. (1952) and Master’s (1954) in education and became a Los Angeles University School District teacher. She retired after 25 years.
During her teaching career, Jackson continued with freelance photography. Her work has been exhibited at the UCLA Gallery, the Riverside Art Museum, the Black Gallery of Los Angeles, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, as well as the Los Angeles Country Public Library, the Afro-American Museum of History and Culture in Los Angeles and the Museum of Art in San Francisco.
Exhibitions
| Year | Title | Location | Notes |
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| 2000 | The Great Migration: The Evolution of African American Art, 1790-1945 | Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH | Forty-nine pieces in group exhibition including works by Vera Jackson, Mary Edmonia Lewis, Geneva Higgins McGee, James Presley Ball, Jr., Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden, Eldzier Cortor, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith, Norman Lewis, Gordon Parks, Marion Perkins, Elijah Pierce, Horace Pippin, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Dox Thrash, and James Van Der Zee. 25-page catalog. |
| 1997 | A History of Women Photographers | Sites included the Stephen Schwartzman Gallery, New York Public Library, Akron Art Museum, Santa Barbara Art Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC. | First large-scale exhibition featuring women's achievements in photography. Works from 219 women photographers. Vera Jackson’s photograph features a 1948 civil rights protest. |
| 1983 | The Tradition Continues: California Black Photographers | California African American Museum (as Museum of Afro-American History and Culture), Los Angeles, CA. | Exhibit featured works by Vera Jackson, Harry Adams, Fred Cooper, Jack Davis, Bill Doggett, Gil Garner, and Howard Lee Morehead. 38-page catalog with text by Lonnie G. Bunche and Roland Charles. |
Collections
- Akron Art Museum A Vera Jackson photograph was also included in an Akron Art Museum exhibit A History of Women Photographers.
- Charlotta Bass & California Eagle Photograph Collection, 1870-1960, USC
