James Ray Francis did not take many pictures in his lifetime. Busy as a teacher—and also a founder of the Kamoinge Workshop—Francis worked in a period when little attention was given to Black photographers. More than 30 of his early prints, taken between 1950 and 1990 and never shown before, star in this solo exhibition. Growing up, Francis saw photographers using techniques to lighten dark skin. A master technician himself, he responded by preserving the true skin tones and using shadows to play with the full spectrum of Blackness. Francis was inspired by painters of the Dutch Golden Age, especially Johannes Vermeer, but insisted that Black artists should add to art history rather than be defined and demeaned by Western views of “black art.” With the artists of the Kamoinge Workshop, he helped build the foundation for a Black visual culture. —Jeanne Malle