“Cats Will Be Cats”: Exploring the Negotiated Gaze in Belle Johnson’s Feline Photography

This article focuses on a series of cat photographs taken by Belle Johnson, a photographer from Monroe City, Mo., in the early years of the 20th century. These photographs were included in a project called With Other Photographers, an initiative from 1909–1910 which showcased the studio set-ups and techniques of professional photographers. Through this set of photographs we see not only the finished results but also process shots of Johnson working with the cats in her studio. In this article I explore how these photographs were part of a larger discussion around two very different approaches to photography in the United States at this time while also insisting on seeing these cats as individual subjects with agency who played an active role in the creation of these images.