Chief S. O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria, Exhibit

Summary

From September 17, 2014 to July 31, 2016, the National Museum of African Art celebrated the history of Nigerian photography. This exhibition featured the collection of Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge, one of Nigeria's premiere early photographers. As an official photographer to the Royal Court of the Benin, Alonge documented the rituals, pageantry, and regalia of the court for over a half-century. Also highlighted are works of art from Benin in the museum's permanent collection and rare collections of Nigerian photography in the museum's Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives.

Subject

• Alonge, Solomon Osagie
• Elisofon, Eliot
• National Museum of African Art (U.S.)
• Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria (Exhibition) (2014-2016: National Museum of African Art)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

• Solomon Osagie Alonge was a self-taught photographer and pioneer of Nigerian photography. He was the first official photographer for the royal court of Benin City, Nigeria, and a chief in the Iwebo palace society. Alonge's record of Nigerian royalty and social class is one of the most extensive and well-preserved collections from the period.
• "Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria", Smithsonian Exhibition Catalogue, September 17, 2014 - July 31, 2016, http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Royal-Benin-Art-in-the-Collection-of-the-National-Museum-of-African-Art-1211.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

September 17, 2014 to July 31, 2016

Topic

• Photography
• Photographers
• Artifacts
• Exhibition catalogs
• Sculpture
• Ethnology
• Exhibitions
• Photographic artifacts
• Kings and rulers
• Photography--Exhibitions

Place

• Benin
• Nigeria

Full Record

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