A Pioneer of Postcolonial Portraiture Seydou Keïta, born around 1921 in Bamako, Mali—the precise date remains shrouded in the mists of time—emerged as a profoundly influential figure in African photography. His life coincided with a period of immense transformation for Mali, transitioning from a French colony to an independent nation, and his work serves as an invaluable visual record of this pivotal era. Initially drawn to carpentry, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle, Keïta’s artistic path took an unexpected turn in 1935 when he received a Kodak Brownie camera from an uncle…