ca. 1963]. · [Np
by Karsh, Yousuf
[Np: The Photographer, ca. 1963].. Two original glossy double-weight gelatin silver prints from negatives, 11 x 14" (inclusive of margins). Captioned in pencil on verso. About fine. Original prints of two of the most memorable of the sequence of superb photographs taken by Yousuf Karsh on location in South Africa during the filming of the 1964 Diamond Films production, ZULU, directed by Cy Endfield. Karsh's invitation to join the production and photograph the cast and locale resulted in a sequence of photographs of a very high order. The present images are an extraordinary pair of photographs, one from a near face-on p.o.v., the other from right profile, of a large group of Zulu tribesmen, in warrior regalia, seated and watching a motion picture (in the first of the images the 16mm projector is visible in the background). The expressions of wonder and amusement are matchless. The pencil caption on the verso reads of the first reads: "The Zulus watched a western movie at dusk outdoors in the Drakensberg Mountains." The second reads: "No. 260. The Zulus' reactions to a western movie - the first movie they have ever seen. They laugh most at the western kiss. " Although this project is not as widely known as Karsh's formal portraiture, examples of the resulting images have featured prominently in both museum and print retrospectives of his career.
(Inventory #: WRCLIT75473)