Photographer’s Biography Assignment

 

Sharon Farmer was a White House key photographer who worked for the Executive Branch Photography Office at the White House Executive mansion. Farmer also worked for the Smithsonian Institution, the Washington Post, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was the first African American woman to ever be hired as an official White House photographer and the first female to be Director of the White House Photography office. Farmer’s photographic work has been presented in exhibition at many museums and cultural institutions, nationwide. This includes Art against AIDS, Gospel in the Projects, Twenty Years on the Mall, Washington, D.C., the Beijing Exchange, and Our Views of Struggle.

Farmer has a unique approach and style or genre in photography, which specifically centers on shooting photographic coverage of news stories, political campaigns, cultural events, conferences, and portraits. Well respected for her craft and in the field of political & social photography, Farmer frequently lectures extensively on photography and has served on the faculty at American University, Mount Vernon College, and Indiana University. It is very important to note that initially, Farmer began her professional career as a freelance photographer. She has been a licensed professional photojournalist and exhibition photographer for over 40 years.

Some of the compelling images Farmer has captured in her lens includes photos taken while the Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela were at a Joint Press Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, shaking hands with Former First Lady Hillary Clinton. And finally, young Black kids walking in the street carrying radios. These three photos are very effective because they each symbolize very memorable political and cultural events in the recent and distant history of our nation.

 

2023. “Sharon Farmer b. 1951.” National Museum of African American History and Culture. Washington, D.C. Sharon Farmer | National Museum of African American History and Culture (si.edu)