Artist

Seydou Keïta

1921–2001 · Malian

Seydou Keïta operated a portrait studio in Bamako from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, creating one of the great photographic records of West African urban life around the period of independence. Patterned backdrops, clothing, jewelry, radios and props allow sitters to present highly controlled versions of themselves.

Photography