Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Herbert Baker photographs, EEPA 1978-001, 1950-1965

Summary

Collection ID:
EEPA.1978-001
Creators:
Baker, Herbert
Dates:
1950-1965
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
184 Photographic prints
(1 box)
color
223 Slides (photographs)
(1 volume)
color
109 Photographic prints
color
8 x 10 in. or smaller
13 Photographic prints
black & white
8 x 10 in. or smaller
Repository:
Container:
1
1
Photographs of art objects at various museums taken and assembled by Herbert Baker.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Assembled by Baker as a collection for personal reference purposes, the photographs document African anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, ceremonial containers, masks, and weapons. African masks documented are from the following peoples: Bamana, Dogon, Fang (Pahouin), Igbo, Lega, Senufo, and Yaka. Sculptures shown include an Asante akuaba (wooden child figure), a Mumuye figure, and Senufo figures. Other objects depicted include an Asante state sword, a Bamana chiwara (antelope headdress), a beaded gourd from the Cameroon Grassfields, and a Dogon door and stool.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art dealer Herbert Baker (1924-2001) studied art in Chicago and, after serving in the South Pacific during World War II, worked for Raymond Loewry Associates, Burton Browne Advertising, and Wetzel Brothers. In 1950 he founded Herbert Baker Advertising. That same year he began collecting African Art. A member of the Committee on Primitive Art at the Art Institute between 1960 and 1970, Baker is an authority on African and Oceanic art. His art holdings have been shown at Lake Forest College in Illinois, the Museum of African Art (now the National Museum of African Art), and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

Administration

Author
Roslyn A. Walker
Custodial History note
Donated by Herbert Baker, 1978 and 1997.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Conditions Governing Use note
For study purposes only. Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art objects -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Africa Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
National Museum of African Art
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
elisofonarchives@si.edu