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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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  • Ntore dancers. Goma, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Traditional house among the Nande people, Rutshuru, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim, on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Kuba elders and warriors dressed for the state visit of the Nyim (ruler) Kot a Mbweeky III, Bungamba village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Senufo women dancing around drums, near Korhogo, Ivory Coast

  • A Bamana family compound, Senou village, Mali

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

  • Tuareg men with traditional swords, near Tombouctou, Mali

  • The making of a dugout canoe, near Dakar, Senegal

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

  • Dragline removing overburden at Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria Ltd., a tin and colombite mining operation, Barakin Akawu, south of Jos, Nigeria

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

  • Domestic scenes in a rural settlement. Benue Plateau, Nigeria

  • Village entertainment produced by age-set associations (ton), Bougouni village, Mali

  • Old Dogon compound built into the side of the rocky plateau. Sanga region, Mali

  • Dromedary camels on caravan route, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Technicians in control room during rehearsal for broadcast at WNTV television studio, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Aissa Alimiri playing single-stringed lute, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Joseph Mokobi's mother, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Eliot Elisofon and cameraman George Bracher filming renowned woodcarver Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Aerial view of traditional dwellings, near Kalemie, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • American tourists. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

  • Hippopotamus at the Rutshuru River, Virunga National Park, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Large carrying baskets containing coffee beans, near Lake Kivu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The construction of a traditional house, Rutshuru, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Tuareg arched mat tent, beehive straw hut, and wind-screen, near Tombouctou, Mali

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

  • Tutsi women with traditional hairstyle, Buhanga-Ndara, near Butare, Rwanda

  • Dendi man, Gaya village, Niger

  • Mbuti women with facial paint, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • A view of the village, Gaya village, Niger

  • Co-operative Bank building, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim, on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Egungun masquerade, Ede, Nigeria

  • Stern-wheeler Congolia, Malebo Pool, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Caravan of dromedary camels. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

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

  • Habe woman pouring out threshed millet, Barhin village, near Katsina, Nigeria

  • Kiosk for a barbershop, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Narrow street with open sewer in the old walled section of town, Kano, Nigeria

  • Initiated performers at a mungonge ceremony, near Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • A view of the city market, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Kuba elders and warriors dressed for the state visit of the Nyim (ruler) Kot a Mbweeky III, Bungamba village, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • A Bamana family compound, Senou village, Mali

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

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

  • Yoruba dancers and musicians rehearsing for broadcast at WNTV television studio, Ibadan, Nigeria

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

  • Dogon settlement at the base of the Bandiagara escarpment. Ireli, Mali

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

  • Woman with silver earrings, Chadawanka village, Niger

  • View of the city, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • View of the city. Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Acrobatic dancers at Tiebleke performance. Bin village, Mali

  • The construction of a traditional raised mud granary, Chadawanka village, Niger

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

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

  • Decorated door, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Masked performers. Bin village, Mali

  • Stone-edged fields, Ogol du Haut village, Mali

  • Women selling manioc tubers at the market, Benin City, Nigeria

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

  • Seventh Day Adventists Secondary Modern School, Ife, Nigeria

  • Military training on the field, Kananga, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Young men, Abouza, Zinder-Tanout region, Niger

  • Drummers accompanying masqueraders during the Dama ceremony, near Sanga, Mali

  • View of a daily food market, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Woman's creative hairstyle, Lagos, Nigeria

  • The profile of the Great Sphinx. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

  • Funeral rites among the Dogon people. Sanga, Mali

  • Students at May Day celebration, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Yoruba hunter, Nigeria

  • Flat-topped building, part of a Dogon family compound. Sanga region, Mali

  • Street scene, Goundam, Mali

  • Mende masqueraders from the Liberian National Dance Troupe

  • Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, at work, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Lubumbashi, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fishing boats by Fort St. Jago, Elmina, Ghana

  • The catacombs of Kom el-Shukâfa. Alexandria, Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Togu na, Dogon men's meeting house, Ireli, Mali

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

  • Minganji masqueraders, near Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Yoruba farmer, with his family members, removing beans from cocoa pods, Adamo village, Nigeria

  • Street scene. Alexandria, Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Joseph Mokobi and his father, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Footbridge across the river, Man region, Ivory Coast

  • The Moro Naba Kougri, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

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

  • Reinforcing the dykes along canal. Nile Delta region, Egypt

  • Joseph Mokobi feeding goat, Bunia, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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

  • Students at May Day celebration, Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Fish-trap construction in the cataracts, near Kisangani, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • The Valley of the Kings. Necropolis of Thebes, Egypt

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

  • Kakabola waterfall in southeastern Kasai, near Gungu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Modern painted figure carved by Anang (Ibibio) artist, Ede, Nigeria

  • Female musician playing drum, Tombouctou, Mali

  • Dwellings among the Mbuti people, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

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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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