One of twenty-five chromogenic prints comprising Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher's African Ceremonies portfolio
Part explorers, part anthropologists, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have spent their careers photographing tribal populations and nomadic peoples throughout Africa. With unprecedented access, they have documented 93 tribal ceremonies—including birth, coming of age, courting, divorce and death—in 26 countries across the African continent, offering an incredible window into these cultures.
Beckwith and Fisher's shared passion for not only photographing their subjects but also understanding the deep histories of each has enabled them to produce a powerful body of work that serves as visual preservation. Captured with an immense sensitivity and surprising intimacy, the photographs speak to universal themes ranging from joy and celebration to sadness and mourning, all of which transcend geography.
The portfolio of 25 prints, to be offered in our 4 October sale of Photographs in New York, includes images that span the photographers' extensive careers and was released in tandem with their watershed book African Ceremonies (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999).
Ruth E. Carter, the celebrated costume designer for the groundbreaking film Black Panther (2017), has referenced Beckwith and Fisher's photographs as one source of inspiration for her innovative designs. Recently profiled in The Washington Post and The New Yorker for her work "creating visions of black identity, past and future," Carter is credited as the costume designer for 62 films and television shows including Selma and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. For her design work for Black Panther, Carter combined physical visits to North Africa with extensive research, using Beckwith and Fisher's comprehensive and varied collection of images as a foundation upon which to innovate.
All 25 prints from this portfolio will be available for viewing at 450 Park Avenue, New York—from Friday 28 September through Wednesday 3 October, prior to the auction on Thursday 4 October.