Hand-woven and dyed fabrics, elaborate gold and beaded jewelry, women with hennaed hands and feet, and military men in suits fill the work of photographer Seydou Keïta (1921–2001), the subject of a new exhibition, “Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens,” at New York’s Brooklyn Museum.

For the show—the largest North American survey of Keïta’s imagery to date—guest curator Catherine E. McKinley has brought together nearly 300 photographs, some never before seen, as well as personal belongings of Keïta’s, including vintage cameras. Born in Bamako, Mali, during French colonial rule, Keïta developed his studio practice against a backdrop of political unrest. For a time, French law forbade photography by Africans, but Keïta persisted, gaining popularity as Bamako’s most sought-after photographer. For

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