The collection includes photographs taken by Aylette Jenness in northern Nigeria between 1967 and 1969. They document daily life in a remote part of Yauri Emerite, focusing on the townspeople of Yelwa and those in its environs.

The collection is comprised of photographs taken by Susan Vogel in Côte d'Ivoire during the 1970s. Most depict the Baule peoples, including during their Goli Dance in Bokpli.

Photographs collected by the Staff of the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Photographs taken by M. Marvin Breckinridge Patterson during her trip with Olivia Stokes Hatch from Capetown, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt in 1932. The photographs document the peoples of Africa in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Uganda, Congo (Democratic Republic) and Zanzibar. They include the Baila, San, Shona, Xhosa and Zulu.

The photographs document many aspects of African life and culture including agriculture, animals, archeology, architecture, art and artisans, children, cityscapes, dance and music, domestic scenes, education, flora, hunting and fishing, industry, landscapes, leaders, markets, medicine, recreation, rituals and celebrations, and transportation. Photographs taken by Eliot Elisofon to document his travels and work. The images portray many aspects of African life and culture including agriculture, wildlife, archaeology, architecture, art and artisans, children, cityscapes and landscapes, leaders, markets, medicine, recreation, ritual and celebration, and transportation. Artisans shown include an Asante weaver making kente cloth in Ghana; a Dogon carver in Mali making a kanaga mask; an Ebrie goldsmith in Cote d'Ivoire; Hausa dyers in Kano, Nigeria; and Nupe beadmakers in Nigeria; as well as artists at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Kinshasa, Congo. Portraits of leaders include the Asante court at Kumase in Ghana; Ebrie chiefs and notables in Cote d'Ivoire; the timi (king) of Ede, a Yourba town, Nigeria; the emir of Katsina, Nigeria; and the Kuba king and his court in the Congo. There are informal portraits showing children of the Kuba royal court dancing, Fulbe women with gold earrings in Mali, Mangbetu women in the Congo, and Maasai elders in Kenya. Masked dances documented include a Dogon dama festival celebration in Mali, an Igbo festival in Nigeria, and Kuba and Pende masked dancers in the Congo. There are also images of Yoruba gelede (men's association) masks in Nigeria. Non-masked dancers shown include Dan professional acrobatic dancers in Cote d'Ivoire, Irigwe dancers in Nigeria, Mangbetu dancers in the Congo, Mbuti dancers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Wodaabe men dancing in Nigeria. Events shown include Hausa riders in chain mail during the Independence Day celebration in Katsina, Nigeria. Images of art in situ include ancestral altars in the King of Benin's palace in Nigeria; Dogon rock paintings in Mali; and Yoruba Shango shrine sculptures in the palace courtyard of timi (king) of Ede in Nigeria. Landscapes include views of mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Animals shown include birds, buffalos, elephants and giraffes. Traditional architecture shown includes Asante shrine houses with raised wall decorations in Ghana, Dogon villages in Mali and mosques in Mopti.

The collection includes 1,429 color slides (35mm) which were taken in Nigeria from circa 1964-1994, and focus on ancestral altars; artists; art objects in museums, including bronze plaques and carved ivory tusks; ceremonies and festivals, including the Igue and Ewere Festivals, and the Emobo, Otue, Olokun, title-taking, and Blackmun's initation ceremonies; and people, including Oba Erediauwa and chiefs Eribo, Ero, Esogban, Ezomo, Ohanmu and Osaigeide; and street and landscape scenes in Benin City, Ife, Lagos, Ishiago, and Mbarri, Owerri, Owo, among other locations in Nigeria.

This collection is comprised of 769 35mm color slides, dates from 1982 to 1986 and documents various Agemo festivals, a performing art of the Yoruba religion. More specifically, Pemberton photographed Agemo funeral rites at the Asu Aluwa house in Olosiwonade, Ijebu, various Agemo priests and their stools, the Odun Agemo festival, Chief Sherafusi's Odun Agemo festival in Igbile, and Egungun dancing at the palace in Oru, Ijebu.

Photographs taken during a research trip to Mali in 1989 to study the art and architecture of the Dogon and Bamana peoples. Accompanying Dr. Ravenhill was Stanley Staniski from Media Resources. Their work resulted in the video production entitled, Togu na and Cheko: Change and Continuity in the Art of Mali, for the National Museum of African Art.

This collection contains a variety of materials including (1,615) 35 mm color slides, circa 400 photographic prints, 1 box of manuscript materials, 1 notebook, 52 audio and 1 video cassettes, and 1 CD-ROM. Many of the slides and photographs were taken during Houlberg's field work in Nigeria (1973-1975) and depict Ibeji figures, wood carvings, Egungun masquerades and masks, twins, portraits, hairstyles, festivals, shrines, textiles, and peoples including the Yoruba, Ekoi, Ibibio, and Ogoni. The audiocassettes consist of lectures, music, field records, and interviews.