NATCHEZ — The talents of two native Natchez artists will be showcased during the months of July and August as part of the Natchez Tricentennial.

Joseph W. Johnson of Natchez will have his historic pointillism images displayed at the Historic Natchez Foundation on Commerce Street, and Roy Lewis, a Washington, D.C.-area photographer, will have still images and videos of historic events on display at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture on Main Street. The galleries will be open from July 1 to Aug. 31.

“What (Joseph) does is interpret historic images in pen and ink,” said HNF Executive Director Mimi Miller. “We are excited to have him because he lives here, and his works are based on images that have historical significance to Natchez.”

Connie Burns, a member of the Natchez Tricentennial Arts Committee, said one of the group’s goals was to bring to the city the work of significant artists with local ties.

“We wished to do a show at NAPAC, and the photography of Roy Lewis, an African American photojournalist, was the perfect fit,” she said. “There is great respect locally and nationally for his work.”

Lewis said he started his path to photography at Sadie V. Thompson High School, from where he graduated in 1956. As part of a class, he ended up working at a Natchez newspaper serving the black community; that newspaper later became The Bluff City Post.

“That got the ink underneath my fingernails, working in the print room and watching them with the cameras,” he said.

Because of his experience with the presses, he was able to get a tour at Johnson Publishing Company, which published Ebony and Jet magazines, in Chicago. Not only did he get the tour, but the tour guide, having listened to his story, ended it by knocking on the door of John H. Johnson, the founder.

“The next week I was working at Johnson Publishing Company, hired by the man himself,” Lewis said. “Here I am 19 years old working at the company that was at the top of the mountain for blacks in journalism.”

His career as a photographer began after he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1960. Following the end of his duty, he was first published in Jet Magazine in 1964 for his work with musician Thelonius Monk. During the years he took photos of legendary people such as Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr. and Elijah Muhammad.

“The first time I went to Africa, it was in Zaire when Ali fought (George) Foreman and regained the championship in 1974,” Lewis said. “Since Ali died, I’ve gone through my photos of him, and a photo from that fight will be in the display.”

The first time he saw King was in 1964 when King came to visit with John H. Johnson.

“Mr. Johnson introduced him to the staff, and I took a picture of him there,” he said.