This photograph was taken by Lorenzo Dow Turner while conducting field research in Brazil from 1940-1941; title generated by description written on back of photograph by Dr. Turner. on back of photograph written by Dr. Turner.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
80,000 Photographic prints (b&w, 25 x 20 cm. or smaller.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Slides (photographs)
Photographic prints
Negatives
Color slides
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Place:
Africa
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Mali
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Benin
Burkina Faso
Egypt
Kenya
Liberia
Niger
Rwanda
Senegal
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Central African Republic
Date:
circa 1935-1978
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.
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.
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.
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The photograph depicts Kuba man at his loom. The oblique angle of the loom is typical of Southern Zaire. "The making of plush cloth, especially a finished ceremonial skirt, involves a fascinating back-and-forth alternation of work by men and women." "Only men set up and operate the loom. The size of the weaving is determined by the natural length of the palm leaves. Most of the cloth panels are made in either of two shapes: a rectangle measuring approximately 30x60cm. to 50x100cm.; or a form approaching a square measuring about 50x60cm. to the largest, about a meter square." [Adams Monni, 1978: Kuba Embroidered Cloth. African Arts, 12 (1), November 1978, pp.24-39]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.
Local Numbers:
EENG-VI-19, 5.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "H 3 Kba. Kuba. Zaire, Mushenge. Weaving raffia cloth. 11/1970. EE. neg.no. VI-19, 5." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The spider is typical of the orb-weavers, which get their name from the large circular webs that they build. They belong to the family Tetragnathidae and the subfamily Nephilinae. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to August 1966.
Local Numbers:
V 4 ARA 1 EE 66
General:
Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Frame value is 1.
Slide No. V 4 ARA 1 EE 66
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The spider is typical of the orb-weavers, which get their name from the large circular webs that they build. They belong to the family Tetragnathidae and the subfamily Nephilinae. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to August 1966.
Local Numbers:
V 4 ARA 8 EE 66
General:
Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
95
Frame value is 10.
Slide No. V 4 ARA 8 EE 66
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The spider is typical of the orb-weavers, which get their name from the large circular webs that they build. They belong to the family Tetragnathidae and the subfamily Nephilinae. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to August 1966.
Local Numbers:
V 4 ARA 11 EE 66
General:
Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
95
Frame value is 14.
Slide No. V 4 ARA 11 EE 66
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Taveta golden weavers are small birds with short, heavy beaks. Males are bright yellow with greenish wings and tail, and chestnut patches on the nape and chest. They keep their bright plumage all year. Females are yellowish-olive with dusky streaks and pale yellow underparts. They have a yellow stripe above each eye. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to early August 1966.
Local Numbers:
V 4 BIR 561 EE 66
General:
Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
83
Frame value is 7.
Slide No. V 4 BIR 561 EE 66
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
