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 (Reclining woman), 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Reclining woman), 1956–1957

Sale Date: February 7, 2008

Auction Closed

A young cyclist proudly wearing a beret, 1948–1962

Seydou Keïta

A young cyclist proudly wearing a beret, 1948–1962

Sale Date: January 31, 2008

Auction Closed

A working man and his adorable twins, 1950–1959

Seydou Keïta

A working man and his adorable twins, 1950–1959

Sale Date: January 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Twins in European dress, 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Twins in European dress, 1952–1955

Sale Date: January 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled #266, 1950–1955

Seydou Keïta

Untitled #266, 1950–1955

Sale Date: November 20, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled #453, 1950–1960

Seydou Keïta

Untitled #453, 1950–1960

Sale Date: November 20, 2007

Auction Closed

Two girls, 1956

Seydou Keïta

Two girls, 1956

Sale Date: November 7, 2007

Auction Closed

A young couple, 1949–1951

Seydou Keïta

A young couple, 1949–1951

Sale Date: November 13, 2007

Auction Closed

Father with daughter, 1949–1954

Seydou Keïta

Father with daughter, 1949–1954

Sale Date: November 13, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1949–1951

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1949–1951

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1959

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1959

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1956–1957

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1956–1957

Sale Date: September 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1959–1997

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre, 1959–1997

Sale Date: June 18, 2007

Auction Closed

Two great ladies, 1950–1959

Seydou Keïta

Two great ladies, 1950–1959

Sale Date: June 7, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled - Women on Vespa, 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Untitled - Women on Vespa, 1952–1955

Sale Date: June 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre, 1956–1957

Sale Date: May 30, 2007

Auction Closed

A woman in the 1950's, a Wolof, sitting , 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

A woman in the 1950's, a Wolof, sitting , 1956–1957

Sale Date: May 24, 2007

Auction Closed

Couple, 2001

Seydou Keïta

Couple, 2001

Sale Date: June 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Trois jeune gens, 2001

Seydou Keïta

Trois jeune gens, 2001

Sale Date: June 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Femme assise, 2001

Seydou Keïta

Femme assise, 2001

Sale Date: June 9, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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