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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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  • Man displaying non-authentic Kuba masks, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Catholic mission school, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The royal boat-shaped pits at the pyramid of Unas, located south of Djoser's step pyramid complex. Ṣaqqārah, Egypt

  • Hall with fluted columns leading to a small sanctuary for Anubis at the temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri site. Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

  • Burkina Faso

  • The pylon of Ptolemy V on partly submerged island of Philae. Near Aswan, Egypt

  • Senior staff of the Federal Legal Department on steps of the Law Courts building, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Worker at Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria Ltd. washing earth down into pump that will take it to sluice boxes

  • Dancing at La Cote nightclub, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Burial site in the Valley of the Kings. Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

  • Market on the Niger River bank, seen from across the river, Goundam, Mali

  • Ngady Amwaash masked dancer, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Weaving shed at Kaduna Textiles Ltd., Kaduna, Nigeria

  • Mangbetu woman returning from the field with carrying basket, Mongomasi village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Bard with his performance troup, Man region, Ivory Coast

  • Kuba man at his loom, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fishing with hand casting-net, thrown from a canoe, Niger River valley, Burkina Faso

  • Trampling and winnowing grain. Wowobahari, Egypt

  • Yoruba hunter, Nigeria

  • Lever Bros. Ltd., soap factory, Aba, Nigeria

  • Riverport facilities, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Women selling manioc and vegetables at the market, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fish and wild animals, brought by dugout canoe, for sale on Congo River steamer Colonel Ebeya, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Women dance during a Goli performance, Kondeyaokro village, Ivory Coast

  • The funerary chapel of the south tomb at the complex of the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Ṣaqqārah, Egypt

  • Young woman wearing dress showing President Mobutu, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mixed crops growing. South of Beni Hasan, Egypt

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

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

  • Dromedary camels being loaded with slabs of salt, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Sculpture tools belonging to Yoruba artist Bamgboye, Odo-owa, Nigeria

  • Ancestral masker performing at an Egungun masquerade, Oshogbo, Nigeria

  • Kyaman goldsmith, Anna village, Ivory Coast

  • The Chemin de Fer Kinshasa-Dilolo-Lubumbashi, near Kananga, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Catholic church at Ruwe, Kolwezi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mud brick dwellings and granaries, part of a Senufo village, near Korhogo, Ivory Coast

  • Young Wodaabe man, Abouza, Zinder-Tanout region, Niger

  • Shrine house priestess Okomfoyaa Anosua, Besease, Ghana

  • People, goats and goods waiting to embark on Congo River steamer Colonel Ebeya, Bumba, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Aerial view of Shela, an old Swahili settlement, near Lamu, Kenya

  • Interior of Khafre's valley temple. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

  • Female dancers, Bamako, Mali

  • The binu ginu, a shamanistic shrine. Ogol du Haut village, Mali

  • Soccer game, Catholic mission school, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Maasai olmurrani warrior in conversation with young woman, Olengaitoli village, Kenya

  • The burial chamber and antechamber of the pyramid of Unas. Ṣaqqārah, Egypt

  • The Great Mosque. Mopti, Mali

  • Fisherman by Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana

  • Joseph Mokobi and Copper-tailed White-nosed monkey, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Woman bathing in Niger River, Mali

  • The rock-cut tomb of Sirenput I at Qubbet al-Hawa. Near Aswan, Egypt

  • Dromedary camels on caravan route, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Hippopotamus, Egyptian geese and various egrets at Vitshumbi, Virunga National Park, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Yoruba man wearing hat, Meko, Nigeria

  • Traditional mud brick architecture, Mopti, Mali

  • Seventh Day Adventists Secondary Modern School, Ife, Nigeria

  • Marine fishing, Elmina, Ghana

  • Rural dwelling among the Kuba people, Bungamba village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Massive papyrus columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall at the temple of Amon, Karnak, Egypt

  • Partial view of the city, Matadi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Congolese men carrying banana bunch on their heads, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Elephantine Island. Aswan, Egypt

  • Children picking cotton. Near Ṣaqqārah, Egypt

  • The drawing and porterage of water, Senou village, Mali

  • Parade in support of the "African Authenticity" movement, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Yoruba woman dyeing fabrics with indigo, Ife, Nigeria

  • Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Joseph Mokobi, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Eleventh Foundation Day anniversary at University College, faculty members and new graduates in front of Trenchard Hall, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Women dancing at the royal palace, Abomey, Benin

  • The pyramid of Khufu. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

  • Yoruba women wearing headties of their own creation, Ife, Nigeria

  • Joseph Mokobi at school, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Stilt masquerader during the Dama ceremony, Sanga, Mali

  • Conical fish-traps suspended from wood construction in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mangbetu court music, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Balaphon players, near Korhogo, Ivory Coast

  • Fortified Dogon settlement on the southwestern plateau, Niongono, Mali

  • View of the city, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • The external gate of traditional building, Mopti, Mali

  • Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Appliqué workers, in street, Abomey, Benin

  • Kwilu Pende Chief, Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The minaret of the DjinguereBer Mosque, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Premier of Western Region, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Mangbetu court music, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mangbetu musicians, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Ntore dancers, Goma, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Worker pours latex into a bucket at a rubber plantation, near Sapele, Nigeria

  • Gwari women carrying firewood in basket, near Kaduna, Nigeria

  • Dogon rock paintings on the great vault. Songo village, Mali

  • Gwari women carrying firewood in basket, near Kaduna, Nigeria

  • Bira elderly woman with nzudu ornament, near Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Aerial view of the city, Ibadan, Nigeria

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

  • Saqiya, or water-wheel driven by animal, Shabramant, Egypt

  • Sword-bearers, Kumasi, Ghana

  • The kiosk of Taharqa with colossus of Ramses II in the first court of Amon. Karnak, Egypt

  • The rock-cut tomb of Sirenput I at Qubbet al-Hawa. Near Aswan, Egypt

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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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