Untitled (Portrait of Two Malian Men), c. 1969-79
Vintage gelatin silver print in hand-painted frame
Print: 6 ⅜ × 4 ¼ in.
Frame: 16 ⅞ × 12 ⅝ in.
Frame painted c. 2003
December 11, 2023
Malick Sidibé is known for his body of work documenting the cultural and social life of his native Mali, as it transitioned to independence after a long history as a French colony. He did a brisk business as a portrait photographer in the 1960s and ’70s, both at his shop Studio Malick, and at local social events. Vibrant hand-painted frames like this one were made by an artisan named Checkna Touré, who ran his own shop near Studio Malick for a number of decades. This one-of-a-kind object documents that energized period of decolonization—celebrating the point in Mali's history when it was simultaneously embracing its West African ancestry as well as a self-determined future.
