1901–1983 · United States · Photographer
Lisette Model
Frank, close-up street portraits with a blunt humanism.
Promenade des Anglais, 1934Source: Wikipedia
PHOTOGRAPHER · 1921–2001 · MALI
Seydou Keita
Elegant studio portraits of Bamako residents with patterned backdrops.
- Born
- 1921
- Died
- 2001
- Country
- Mali
- Field
- Photographer
KNOWN FOR
- 1948Bamako-Koura (first studio)
- 1962Government photographer (Mali)
WHY THEY MATTER
His Bamako studio portraits are recognised both as a record of Malian society and as art, and are held and exhibited by museums internationally.
THE LIFE
Keita was born in Bamako and learned photography from a French supply-shop owner and his mentor Mountaga Traore. In 1948 he set up his first studio in the family house in Bamako-Koura, where thousands of residents came to be photographed. He kept almost all his negatives, a record of the city's postwar boom. In 1962, shortly after independence, he became the official photographer of the Malian government, which eventually ended his studio work.
Also born in 1900–1929
1902–1984 · United States · Photographer
Ansel Adams
Sharp black-and-white landscapes of the American West with full tonal range.
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941Source: Wikipedia
1902–2002 · Mexico · Photographer
Manuel Alvarez Bravo
Poetic, quietly surreal views of Mexican life.
Striking Worker, Assassinated, 1934Source: Wikipedia
1903–1993 · Mexico · Photographer
Lola Alvarez Bravo
Modernist portraits and street pictures of postrevolutionary Mexico.
Galería de Arte Contemporáneo (Frida Kahlo exhibition), 1953Source: Wikipedia
1903–1975 · United States · Photographer
Walker Evans
Frontal, plain-spoken records of American vernacular life.
American Photographs, 1938Source: Wikipedia
1904–1983 · United Kingdom · Photographer
Bill Brandt
High-contrast social documentary, then distorted nudes and stark landscapes.
The English at Home, 1936Source: Wikipedia