Seydou Keïta

(Malian, 1923–2001)

Seydou Keïta was a Malian photographer known for his black-and-white portraits of friends, family, and neighbors. Running a commercial portrait studio, the artist captured many idiosyncratic details of time and place, including the traditional patterned dresses of his female sitters. “It’s easy to take a photo, but what really made a difference was that I always knew how to find the right position, and I never was wrong,” he once said. “Their head slightly turned, a serious face, the position of the hands—I was capable of making someone look really good.” Born c. 1921 in Bamako, Mali, he worked as a carpenter with his father as a young man. Keïta first began taking photographs after receiving a Kodak Brownie camera as a gift from his uncle. By 1949, he had established a studio in a small courtyard nearby one of Bamako’s prisons. After having much of his equipment stolen over during the 1970s, the artist shuttered his studio space in 1977. In 1992, two French photographers Bernard Descamps and Françoise Huguier, traveled to Mali in search of Keïta, having seen his work in a recent show at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. The Frenchmen and their gallerist subsequently introduced Keïta’s work to an international audience, leading to opportunities that included a photo campaign for Harper’s Bazaar during the mid-1990s. The artist died on November 22, 2001 in Paris, France. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, among others.

Seydou Keïta Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Seydou Keïta (440 results)
Untitled (Two girls), 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Two girls), 1956–1957

Sale Date: October 4, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (A young couple), 1950–1959

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (A young couple), 1950–1959

Sale Date: October 4, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1949–1951

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1949–1951

Sale Date: June 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Man with flower, 1958

Seydou Keïta

Man with flower, 1958

Sale Date: May 19, 2011

Auction Closed

A working man and his adorable twins, 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

A working man and his adorable twins, 1952–1955

Sale Date: May 19, 2011

Auction Closed

Portrait, n.d.

Seydou Keïta

Portrait, n.d.

Sale Date: May 20, 2011

Auction Closed

The girls from Mali, 1949

Seydou Keïta

The girls from Mali, 1949

Sale Date: May 10, 2011

Auction Closed

A working man and his adorable twins, 1950–1959

Seydou Keïta

A working man and his adorable twins, 1950–1959

Sale Date: April 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1956–1957

Sale Date: December 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (Man with bike)

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Man with bike)

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (Girl in Vespa)

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Girl in Vespa)

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Three young men from Mali, 1954

Seydou Keïta

Three young men from Mali, 1954

Sale Date: November 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Portrait de Jules Dravey, 1955

Seydou Keïta

Portrait de Jules Dravey, 1955

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Femme aux bijoux colorisés, 1949–1952

Seydou Keïta

Femme aux bijoux colorisés, 1949–1952

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Sœurs jumelles aux bouboux en corolle

Seydou Keïta

Sœurs jumelles aux bouboux en corolle

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Femme assise, sa jupe étalée en corolle

Seydou Keïta

Femme assise, sa jupe étalée en corolle

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Femme assise avec camisole blanche et..., 1993

Seydou Keïta

Femme assise avec camisole blanche et..., 1993

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Trois hommes debout, dont deux arborent un nœud...

Seydou Keïta

Trois hommes debout, dont deux arborent un nœud...

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Mère et fille avec camisoles à guirlandes à fleurs

Seydou Keïta

Mère et fille avec camisoles à guirlandes à fleurs

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Couple de jeunes wolofs de Bamako

Seydou Keïta

Couple de jeunes wolofs de Bamako

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Trois amies vêtues de camisoles finyé wili

Seydou Keïta

Trois amies vêtues de camisoles finyé wili

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

L'homme à la montre

Seydou Keïta

L'homme à la montre

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Deux femmes assises se tenant par la main

Seydou Keïta

Deux femmes assises se tenant par la main

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Jeune femme assise portant turban, collier,...

Seydou Keïta

Jeune femme assise portant turban, collier,...

Sale Date: November 23, 2010

Auction Closed

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