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.
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.
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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.
Donated by Herbert Baker, 1978 and 1997.