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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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  • African Unity Square (formerly Cecil Square), Harare, Zimbabwe

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

  • Msr. Alexander Nzundu, Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Académie des Beaux-Arts, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Young Lega woman with plantains, Shabunda, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Saqiya, or water-wheel driven by animal. Shatanof village, Egypt

  • Grain fields, Mit Rahina, Egypt

  • Remains of the temple of Khnum on Elephantine Island. Aswan, Egypt

  • Drying salt fish, Albert, Lake, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Woman preparing a meal, Abouza, Zinder-Tanout region, Niger

  • Domestic scenes in front of house of Latifu Awoyale, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Montane grasslands with giant senecio and lobelia plants. Ruwenzori Mountains, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Shell-BP oil drilling training rig, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Student at Protestant secondary school. Mbandaka, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • President Mobutu at a parade of the "Corps des Volontaires de la République," Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Children on a swing. Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Initiation rituals among Yaka people, near Kasongo Lunda, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

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

  • Food distribution in a camp with refugees from Eastern Congo's rebellions, Wanie Rukula, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Maasai warrior (olmurrani) preparing to shoot blunt arrow into the carotid artery of a cow, Olengaitoli village, Kenya

  • Enya fishermen on fish-trap constructions in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Baule woman holding gilded wood fly whisks of dignitary N'Goran Koffi, Kouassiblekro, Ivory Coast

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

  • Prepared undecorated gourds for sale, near Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Cattle drive through village, Kokow village, Sudan

  • Mbuti man caring for child of the camp, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Agricultural landscape along the Nile River, Egypt

  • Outdoor bar and dancing in Ngiri-Ngiri district, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Mbuti women caring for children of the camp, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Lega women carrying firewood, near Shabunda, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Irigwe dancers of Miango village, Jos Plateau, Nigeria

  • Rites built around a door-shield (keibi), part of the lutumbo lwa kindi initiations, Kabila village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Domestic scenes outside a Dogon settlement, Sanga region, Mali

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

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

  • Building made of corrugated iron, on Randall Street, Monrovia, Liberia

  • Dancers performing Minganji face mask, near Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • View from Mosque Hassan El Kordi. Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Ferry Kionzo crossing Congo River, near Matadi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • View of a market, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Shrine at the Osun Grove, Oshogbo, Nigeria

  • Boats on the bank of the Benue River, near Markudi crossing, Nigeria

  • Mangbetu woman with skull elongation, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Domestic activities among the Dendi people, near Gaya village, Niger

  • The Great Sphinx, Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

  • Kimbanguist church people, dedication of new religious headquarters and theological school, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • A view of the city, Tombouctou, Mali

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

  • Women winnowing grain, near Zinder, Niger

  • Fields of clover, wheat and tomatoes. South of Ṣaqqārah, Egypt

  • Kanaga and dyomo masqueraders during the Dama ceremony, Sanga, Mali

  • Statue of Amon with features of Tutankhamen before the sanctuary of the temple of Amon, Karnak, Egypt

  • Flight crew on Air Mali, Tombouctou, Mali

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

  • Columns of the peristyle sun court of Amenhotep III, Luxor, Egypt

  • Display of Gelede headdress, Meko, Nigeria

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

  • Frère Joseph Cornet, director of the Institut des Musées Nationaux du Congo, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Sunday service at White Fathers Mission, Shabunda, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Gynecological operation in progress at Lagos General Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Wholesale plantain market, Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Juice condensers at Lafia Canning Factory, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Wrestlers coming to grips with one another, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Taxidermy shop, near Nairobi, Kenya

  • Wives of Kuba Nyim (ruler) Kot a-Mbweeky III, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Parachute Troops training camp, CIPA, near Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Concentrator buildings and stack, Kolwezi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fourfold Hathoric columns at the pronaos of Tiberius for Hathor of Dendera. Dendera, Egypt

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

  • Boys playing in mud, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Maasai elders (ilmoruak) playing enkeshui, a traditional board game, Rift valley region, Kenya

  • Market vendors selling raw materials used for sacred objects, medicine and prestige paraphernalia, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Saqiya, or water-wheel. Al Uqsur and Karnak village, Egypt

  • Kyaman woman wearing gold pendant attached to the hair, Anna village, Ivory Coast

  • Mangbetu wood carver and blacksmith, Medje village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Young Lega woman, Kabila village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Clearing the fields by burning elephant grass, near Mweka, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Women dancing while Aissa Alimiri is playing single-stringed lute, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Domestic scenes among the Kuba people, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Gecamines concentrator plant, Kolwezi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Katherine Ake Agouabe, Anna village, Ivory Coast

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

  • Woman having her hair styled, on the Congo River, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The one remaining obelisk and colossi of Ramses II before the entrance pylon, Luxor, Egypt

  • Kuba titleholders, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Dance celebration among the Mbuti people, Ituri Forest, near Beni, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Domestic scenes among the Kuba people, Mushenge, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Oil refinery, Kitombe, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Elephantine Island. Aswan, Egypt

  • Horse-drawn carriage. Tanta, Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Bashi Village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Masked dancer during a Gelede performance, Meko, Nigeria

  • Ceiling decorations at the Hathor temple. Dendera, Egypt

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

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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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