Label TextA transformative figure in the history of West African photography, Seydou Keïta captured modern life in the Malian capital of Bamako between 1948 and 1962. In this period, he made more than 10,000 images featuring residents and visitors to Mali. Keïta’s studio was in the Bamako-Koura neighborhood, not far from the city’s train station. Untitled (Three Women Together) is a compelling example of the self-styling of young Bamako residents that was Keïta’s trademark. The sitters are likely related, as wearing similar outfits was frequently a way that Keïta’s models signaled affiliation with each other. Their cotton dresses are fashionable, based on a western style and likely produced in the English city of Manchester. (In the period, cotton clothing was an important trade product and factories in Northern England produced fabrics specifically for West African markets.) They wear a head-dress style worn by the Fulani people, identifying their tribal affiliation. The silver rings that adorn their hair signal wealth. The fabric behind them identifies the scene as an early example of the artist’s work that includes the first fabric background he used in his photographs: his bedspread.
DimensionsFrame: 50 1/4 x 64 1/2 x 2 in. (127.6 x 163.8 x 5.1 cm)
Image (visible): 38 1/4 x 52 1/2 in. (97.2 x 133.4 cm)
Image (visible): 38 1/4 x 52 1/2 in. (97.2 x 133.4 cm)
Accession Number 2025.12
Classificationsphotograph
EditionEdition 1 of 5
Leon Levinstein
date unknown
Leon Levinstein
ca. 1985
