Carol Beckwith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carol Beckwith
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Angela Fisher (left) and Carol Beckwith (right), Hatchards, London, November 2018
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| Born | July 10, 1945 |
| Alma mater | School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
| Occupation | Photographer |
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Notable work
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Maasai, Nomads of Niger, African Ceremonies, Passages, Lamu, African Ark, Dinka |
Carol Beckwith, born on July 10, 1945, is an American photographer, writer, and artist. She is famous for her photojournalism, which means taking pictures to tell stories. Carol Beckwith has spent her career documenting the cultures of different tribes in Africa. She often works with Angela Fisher, an Australian photographer.
Together, Beckwith and Fisher have created 14 books. Their amazing photos have been featured in many well-known magazines like National Geographic, Time, Life, and Vogue.
They also show their work and give talks at museums and galleries around the world. These include places like The American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Royal Geographical Society in London. They have also made four films about African traditions. Carol and Angela have received many awards for their work, such as the United Nations Award for Excellence and the WINGS WorldQuest Lifetime Achievement Award.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Travels
Carol Beckwith was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Goucher College in Maryland. After finishing her studies in Painting and Photography, she won a special fellowship from the Boston Museum. This award allowed her to travel to other countries for the first time.
She spent seven months in Japan, living in a Zen temple and learning about calligraphic painting. She then traveled through Southeast Asia and New Guinea. In New Guinea, she saw a "sing-sing", which is a huge gathering of 90,000 Highland warriors. She also paddled a canoe up the Chambri Lakes. She described this experience as "one of the most wonderful, and in a way formative, experiences in my life."
Her first trip to Africa was in 1973. She was invited to visit a friend in Kenya. Carol bought a ticket for a 45-day trip, but she ended up staying for eight months! While there, she met the Maasai people. She was very interested in their traditions and decided to spend more time learning about their culture.
Becoming a Photographer
Carol Beckwith studied photography in college, but she first wanted to be a painter. During her travels in New Guinea, she realized how powerful photography could be. She said that there was so much exciting material to capture. She started taking photos, using her painter's eye for light, color, and how things are arranged. She wanted her pictures to be rich experiences, like a painting. Photography seemed to be a better way to capture all the amazing things she saw while traveling.
Carol's first big project was with Tepilit Ole Saitoti. He was an anthropologist (someone who studies human societies and cultures) and a former Maasai warrior. She met him in Boston during one of her painting shows. Their work together resulted in the book Maasai, published in 1980. She also worked with another anthropologist, Marion van Offelen, to create Nomads of Niger in 1983. This book focused on the Wodaabe cattle herders. Even though Carol did not formally study anthropology, working with experts helped her learn how to interview people and understand different parts of traditional African life.
Working with Angela Fisher
Carol Beckwith first heard about Angela Fisher in 1974. They met at Angela's exhibition of traditional African jewelry in Nairobi. They quickly found out they both loved documenting traditional African cultures. Within just one week, they were already photographing a Maasai warrior ceremony together.
Over more than three decades, they worked on many projects. They published books like African Ark (1990), African Ceremonies (1999), and Lamu: Kenya's Enchanted Island (2009). They also published Dinka in 2010. They completed a big project about the art of body painting in Africa, which became a book called Africa: Spirit of Paint. They also finished their third and final part of African Ceremonies, titled African Twilight, which was published in 2018. Carol Beckwith lives in New York City, and Angela Fisher lives in London.
Media
Books
- 1980 Maasai (with Tepilit Ole Saitoti)
- 1983 Nomads of Niger (with Marion van Offelen)
- 1990 African Ark: People and Ancient Cultures of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (with Angela Fisher and Graham Hancock)
- 1999 African Ceremonies I (with Angela Fisher)
- 1999 African Ceremonies II (with Angela Fisher)
- 2000 Passages (with Angela Fisher)
- 2002 African Ceremonies Concise (with Angela Fisher)
- 2002 Surma (with Angela Fisher)
- 2002 Karo (with Angela Fisher)
- 2002 Maasai, Himba, Hamar (with Angela Fisher)
- 2004 Faces of Africa (with Angela Fisher)
- 2008 Dinka: 2008 (with Angela Fisher)
- 2009 Lamu: Kenya's Enchanted Island (with Angela Fisher, David Coulson and Nigel Pavitt)
- 2010 Dinka: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan (with Angela Fisher)
- 2012 Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos and Scarification
- 2018 African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent
Film and TV
- 1986 Way of the Wodaabe
- 1988 Nomads of Niger
- 1990 The Painter and the Fighter
- 1992 Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World
Awards and Honors
- 1991: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for helping people understand different cultures.
- 1999: United Nations Award for Excellence.
- 2009: Book of the Year Award from ForeWord Reviews.
- 2009: Image Award from Sociedad Geográfica Española.
- Cherry Kearton Medal from the Royal Geographical Society of London for their amazing photos of African cultures and traditions.
- 2010: Lowell Thomas Award from The Explorers Club for their achievements in exploration.
- 2010: Lifetime Achievement Award from WINGS WorldQuest, honoring the accomplishments of inspiring women.
