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Eliot Elisofon Field collection

National Museum of African Art

Object Details

Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
Place
Africa
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Mali
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Benin
Burkina Faso
Egypt
Kenya
Liberia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Senegal
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Central African Republic
Topic
Body arts
Photographer
Elisofon, Eliot
See more items in
Eliot Elisofon Field collection
Summary
This collection is comprised of photographic and manuscript materials, primarily created by Eliot Elisofon to document his travels and work. The images portray many aspects of African life and culture including agriculture, wildlife, archaeology, architecture, art and artisans, children, cityscapes and landscapes, leaders, markets, medicine, recreation, ritual and celebration, and transportation. The manuscript materials include correspondence, essays, clippings, puobligations, notes, research, and itineraries.
Biographical/Historical note
A photographer best known for his work in Life magazine. Elisofon worked as a free-lance magazine photographer from 1933 to 1937, as a staff photographer for Life from 1933 to 1937 and on photographic assignments for various magazines, including the Smithsonian magazine, from 1942 to 1945. Elisofon traveled extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America documenting the peoples of these lands as well as their arts and environments. A founding member and curatorial associate of the private Museum of African Art, which in 1981 became the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA), Elisofon bequeathed his collection of African photographs to the museum when he died in 1973. To honor Elisofon's contribution to the understanding of African art and culture, NMAfA named its archives after him.
Extent
14000 Negatives (photographic) (b&w, 35mm)
30000 Slides (photographs) (color)
80,000 Photographic prints (b&w, 25 x 20 cm. or smaller.)
Date
circa 1935-1978
Custodial History note
Photographs from this collection appeared in Life magazine and in the following publications; Color Photography by Eliot Elisofon (London: Thames & Hudson, 1962), The Nile by Eliot Elisofon (New York: Viking Press, 1964), Zaire: A Week in Joseph's World by Eliot Elisofon ((New York: Crowell-Collier Press, 1973), Africa by Eliot Elisofon edited by Tom Maloney (New York: U.S. Camera Annual, 1953-54) and Memorable Life Photographs by Edward Steichen (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1951).
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.1973-001
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Slides (photographs)
Photographic prints
Negatives
Color slides
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Citation
Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form
Negatives
Photographic prints
Color slides
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of circa 14,000 negatives, 30, 0000 slides, 8,000 photographic prints, and 14 boxes of manuscript materials that date from circa 1945-1978. The photographs document Eliot Elisofon's travels and work in Africa. The images portray many aspects of African life and culture including agriculture, wildlife, archaeology, architecture, art and artisans, children, cityscapes and landscapes, leaders, markets, medicine, recreation, ritual and celebration, and transportation. Artisans shown include an Asante weaver making kente cloth in Ghana; a Dogon carver in Mali making a kanaga mask; an Ebrie goldsmith in Cote d'Ivoire; Hausa dyers in Kano, Nigeria; and Nupe beadmakers in Nigeria; as well as artists at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Kinshasa, Congo. Portraits of leaders include the Asante court at Kumase in Ghana; Ebrie chiefs and notables in Cote d'Ivoire; the timi (king) of Ede, a Yourba town, Nigeria; the emir of Katsina, Nigeria; and the Kuba king and his court in the Congo. There are informal portraits showing children of the Kuba royal court dancing, Fulbe women with gold earrings in Mali, Mangbetu women in the Congo, and Maasai elders in Kenya. Masked dances documented include a Dogon dama festival celebration in Mali, an Igbo festival in Nigeria, and Kuba and Pende masked dancers in the Congo. There are also images of Yoruba gelede (men's association) masks in Nigeria. Non-masked dancers shown include Dan professional acrobatic dancers in Cote d'Ivoire, Irigwe dancers in Nigeria, Mangbetu dancers in the Congo, Mbuti dancers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Wodaabe men dancing in Nigeria. Events shown include Hausa riders in chain mail during the Independence Day celebration in Katsina, Nigeria. Images of art in situ include ancestral altars in the King of Benin's palace in Nigeria; Dogon rock paintings in Mali; and Yoruba Shango shrine sculptures in the palace courtyard of timi (king) of Ede in Nigeria. Landscapes include views of mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Animals shown include birds, buffalos, elephants and giraffes. Traditional architecture shown includes Asante shrine houses with raised wall decorations in Ghana, Dogon villages in Mali and mosques in Mopti. The manuscript materials include correspondence, essays, clippings, puobligations, notes, research, and itineraries.
Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1536870822481-1536871012384-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo763575c19-5f10-470a-af8b-75ebd1c82664

In the Collection

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  • Colossi of Memnon at the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

  • Footbridge across the river, Man region, Ivory Coast

  • Female soldiers at parachute troops training camp, CIPA, near Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Masked performers wearing pair of male and female vertical Chi wara headdresses, Bougouni village, Mali

  • Tellem architecture and Dogon granaries into the caverns of the Bandiagara escarpment, Sanga region, Mali

  • Maasai girl drawing cow's blood into a calabash gourd, Olengaitoli village, Kenya

  • Kyaman goldsmith, Anna village, Ivory Coast

  • Wanyugo masks dancers, near Korhogo, Ivory Coast

  • The external gate of traditional earth building, Mopti, Mali

  • Masked performers at Tiebleke dance, Bin village, Mali

  • Osiride statues in the court of the temple of Ramses III, Karnak, Egypt

  • Tuareg man wearing turban and face veil, Chadawanka village, Niger

  • Congolese man and women on their way to the fields, Kaina village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Ntore dancers, Gisenyi, Rwanda

  • Hairdressing among Mangbetu people, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Soccer game at Accra Stadium, Accra, Ghana

  • Saqiya, or water-wheel driven by animal, near Al Uqsur, Egypt

  • At the market, Kibentile near Mbanza-Ngungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Smoke-cooking of an antelope among the Mbuti people, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Two masked performers wearing double-headed horizontal Chi wara headdresses, referred to as n'gonzon koun, Bamako (national district), Mali

  • Dogon women returning from the outfields. Near Sanga, Mali

  • Smelting copper at a high temperature, Lubumbashi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • North court of the seventh pylon of the temple of Amon. Karnak, Egypt

  • Joint canoeing to the fish-traps in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Game Park staff patrol on domesticated African elephants, Garamba National Park, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Irigwe dancers of Miango village, Jos Plateau, Nigeria

  • Workers carrying bags of groundnuts, on the premises of P.S. Mandrides & Co., Ltd., oil mill, Kano, Nigeria

  • Wheat fields, Eonia, Egypt

  • Joseph Mokobi playing soccer, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Preparing and manuring fields, Bougouni village, Mali

  • Bamana man. Bin village, Mali

  • Dan acrobatic dancers, Man region, Ivory Coast

  • Rural Hausa family compound with farmer raised conical granaries, east of Zinder, Niger

  • Nupe women carrying enamelled tinware with flexible woven cover, Wuya, west of Bida, Nigeria

  • Women selling palm nuts at Basoko market, near Mbandaka, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Statue of Henry Morton Stanley, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mbuti bow-hunters, near Beni, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Congolese woman selling vegetables at market, Katanga Province, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The pyramids of Giza, close to the cultivation, near the Giza Plateau, Egypt

  • Soccer game at Kashama commune Stadium, Kananga, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Bread oven, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Ancestral shrine, House of the Oba, Benin City, Nigeria

  • Congolese people embarking on a ferry before crossing the Congo River, near Matadi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Kimbanguist church people, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Men's dance at edge of Ituri Forest, near Beni, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Oji River Power Station run by the Electricity Corp. of Nigeria, 25 miles west of Enugu, Nigeria

  • Bozo women and children by the river, Mopti, Mali

  • Woman with elaborate hairstyle, on a Congo River steamer, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mangbetu woman carrying plaited basket and woven mat, near Isiro, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The river market, Mopti, Mali

  • Kuba woman decorating woven cloth, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Popular paintings for sale, on the streets of Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Village elders wearing traditional clothes, Kondeyaokro village, Ivory Coast

  • The First Cataract landscape seen from the Old Cataract Hotel. Aswan, Egypt

  • Abdul Wanis, with his dromedary camels. Near Al Fayyum, Egypt

  • Colossi of Memnon at the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

  • Tuareg arched mat tent and beehive straw hut, Tombouctou region, Mali

  • Man fishing in water falls, near Banza Kwilu (Moerbeke Kwilu), Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Yoruba hunter, Nigeria

  • Oil palm mill at Calabar Oil Palm Estate (COPE), Calabar, Nigeria

  • Ruins of the extinct city of Karanis, Kom Oshîm, near Al Fayyūm, Egypt

  • Elderly man and woman, Egypt

  • "Papa" Joseph Diagienda, spiritual leader of the Kimbanguists, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Law School of Lovanium University, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Joint canoeing to the fish-traps in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fragment of obelisk of Hatshepsut at the temple of Amon. Karnak, Egypt

  • Sawmill, at African Timber & Plywood Limited plant , Sapele, Nigeria

  • Boys playing in mud, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Headquarters of the Western Region Housing Corporation, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Domestic scenes in urban settlement, on Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria

  • The Central Mosque, Goundam, Mali

  • Women selling cassava at Basoko market, near Mbandaka, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Joint canoeing to the fish-traps in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • "Papa" Joseph Diagienda, spiritual leader of the Kimbanguists, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The triple barque shrine within the Great Court of Ramses II, Luxor, Egypt

  • A Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Boats on the riverbanks of the Nile. Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Congolese man carrying banana bunch and calabash on his back, Kivu Province, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Students at secondary school Athénée Royale, Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Shovel and 100-ton truck at work, Kamoto open pit copper mine, Kolwezi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Raised-relief carving displaying Amenhotep III in a gesture of offering to the god Amon, Luxor, Egypt

  • Young girls hairstyle, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Colossal seated statue of Ramses II before the entrance pylon, Luxor, Egypt

  • An industrial center, Lubumbashi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Children in the open public space (mulungu) of the village, Shabunda, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Ritual ceremonies associated with Senufo hunters' society, Boundiali, Ivory Coast

  • Sneferu Bent pyramid, close to the cultivation, Dahshur, Egypt

  • Dolo, a blacksmith and woodcarver, making a Kanaga mask, Ogol du Haut village, Mali

  • Dromedary camel riders attending a tende, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Woman and child, near Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Soccer game at Kashama commune Stadium, Kananga, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Hausa horsemen during 10th anniversary of independence celebration, Niamey, Niger

  • Yoruba weaver, Nigeria

  • Mural painting at refugee camp, Wanie Rukula, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The making of a new roof, Jos Plateau, Nigeria

  • Senufo women using mortar and pestles, near Korhogo, Ivory Coast

  • Wodaabe male performer at the Jeerewol celebration, Chadawanka village, Niger

  • Woman on deck of a steamer, on the congo River, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Copper plant (Sodimiza Co.) owned and operated by a Japanese consortium, Musoshi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Dan acrobatic dancers, Man region, Ivory Coast

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Woman dancing at the royal palace, Abomey, Benin
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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