African Photographer J. A. Green

"The pioneering role of J. A. (Jonathan Adagogo) Green's photographic artistry is painstakingly resurrected and perceptively examined in this magisterial study, beautifully produced in large format by the Indiana University Press."—Journal of Folklore Research

"[Green] practiced for only 14 years but the legacy of pictorial history that he created has been given proper focus by the impeccable, collaborative research and interpretative conceptualism of this volume of essays and commentaries edited with guidance from Prof. Alagoa."—The Guardian

"The publication of the book in 2017 has effectively peeled the layer of anonymity from Mr. Green who's work was published in leading publications across the world but who remained largely unknown for decades. . . This landmark book unifies these dispersed photographic images of Jonathan Adagogo Green and presents a history of the photographer and the area and times in which he worked."—Premium Times

"Apart from bringing to light one of Africa's underexposed photographers, this much-needed volume offers profoundly generative theoretical frameworks for considering the roles photography has played both on and off the continent in the colonial period and beyond."—African Arts

"J. A. Green worked for colonials and locals in the Niger Delta circa 1891–1905. His images circulated regionally and internationally for 100 years, but his name and African identity had fallen into obscurity—until this beautifully illustrated and authoritative book. It thoroughly documents Green's photography, considers it through multiple frames of analysis, and challenges simplistic notions of a "colonial gaze."—John Peffer, editor of Portraiture and Photography in Africa

"In the past fifteen or so years, African photography has taken shape as a subject of great interest to art historians of Africa and modern/contemporary art. . . . This book will enhance our understanding of photography in Africa and especially the earliest years of photographic practices on the continent."—Joanna Grabski, author of Art World City

"Little is known about J. A. Green and much of his corpus of photographs and the priceless documentation Green kept on each photograph were lost when a family member tragically tossed it all in the trash. Martha G. Anderson and Lisa Aronson have . . . uncover[ed] not just the story of J. A. Green but, perhaps more importantly, an examination of the intersection of photography and the indigenous and colonial life in Nigeria at the turn of the twentieth century."—Elisabeth L. Cameron, editor of Portraiture and Photography in Africa