ca. 1963]. · [Np
by Karsh, Yousuf
[Np: The Photographer, ca. 1963].. Original glossy double-weight gelatin silver print from negative, 14 x 11" (inclusive of margins). Captioned in pencil on verso. About fine. An original print of one 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 image, is an informal portrait of future political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi in character as Zulu King Cetshwayo kaMpande, standing in front of his house, with his mother, Constance Mhlungu, in the foreground, playing a tall stringed instrument. The image is identified as "No. 479" in the series, and captioned: "Constance Mhlungu, Zulu princess and musician-composer, with her son, Chief Butalezi [sic], on the steps of their home in Zululand." 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 #: WRCLIT75486)