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 (406 results)
Untitled (A Malian Patriarch), 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (A Malian Patriarch), 1956–1957

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (A Father with His Two..., 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (A Father with His Two..., 1952–1955

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two Ladies of Bamako), 1959, 1959

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Two Ladies of Bamako), 1959, 1959

Sale Date: April 3, 2024

Auction Closed

Odalisque, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Odalisque, 1956–1957

Sale Date: February 14, 2024

Auction Closed

Sans titre (femme khassonké avec..., 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre (femme khassonké avec..., 1956–1957

Sale Date: December 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Three women wearing 'Grand Dakar' dresses..., 1949

Seydou Keïta

Three women wearing 'Grand Dakar' dresses..., 1949

Sale Date: December 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Portrait), 1977

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Portrait), 1977

Sale Date: December 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Selected Portraits, 1952

Seydou Keïta

Selected Portraits, 1952

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Selected Portraits, 1952

Seydou Keïta

Selected Portraits, 1952

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Selected Portraits, 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Selected Portraits, 1952–1955

Sale Date: November 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (#420), 1950–1952

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (#420), 1950–1952

Sale Date: October 19, 2023

Auction Closed

SEYDOU KEÏTA (1921-2001, 1959

Seydou Keïta

SEYDOU KEÏTA (1921-2001, 1959

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Twins, 1956-1957, 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

Twins, 1956-1957, 1956–1957

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled #444 (Two Seated Women), 1950–1955

Seydou Keïta

Untitled #444 (Two Seated Women), 1950–1955

Sale Date: August 23, 2023

Auction Closed

[Untitled, #454, Sisters,]

Seydou Keïta

[Untitled, #454, Sisters,]

Sale Date: June 21, 2023

Auction Closed

[Untitled, #313, Woman on chair,..., 1956–1957

Seydou Keïta

[Untitled, #313, Woman on chair,..., 1956–1957

Sale Date: June 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two Men), 1998

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Two Men), 1998

Sale Date: June 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Sans titre, Mère et enfant, 1952-1955, 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre, Mère et enfant, 1952-1955, 1952–1955

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Sans titre (Les deux soeurs, deux femmes-fond), 1958

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre (Les deux soeurs, deux femmes-fond), 1958

Sale Date: May 31, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two women and a girl with Peugeot..., 1997

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Two women and a girl with Peugeot..., 1997

Sale Date: May 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Father and daughter, Bamako), 1949–1951

Seydou Keïta

Untitled (Father and daughter, Bamako), 1949–1951

Sale Date: May 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Man and woman reclining, Bamako., 1952–1955

Seydou Keïta

Man and woman reclining, Bamako., 1952–1955

Sale Date: April 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1956–1959

Seydou Keïta

Untitled, 1956–1959

Sale Date: April 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Sans titre (Portrait de femme), 1998

Seydou Keïta

Sans titre (Portrait de femme), 1998

Sale Date: April 2, 2023

Auction Closed

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