Casimir Ostoja Zagourski (in Polish Kazimierz Zagórski; 9 August 1883 – 10 January 1944) was a Polish pioneering photographer of Central African peoples and customs.
Casimir Zagourski | |
|---|---|
 Zagourski in 1936 | |
| Born | Kazimierz Zagórski 9 August 1883 |
| Died | 10 January 1944 (aged 60) |
| Education | Imperial Russian Air Force (aerial intelligence) |
| Known for | Photography |
| Notable work | postcards; portraits; L'Afrique qui disparaît! |
Life edit
Zagourski was born in Zhytomyr in 1883. He was a Pole, from the noble Clan of Ostoja.[1] He served in the Imperial Russian Air Force until 1917, rising to the rank of colonel, and in the Polish military during 1920.
He emigrated from Europe in 1924 and settled in Léopoldville (Belgian Congo), gallicizing his name and opening a photographic studio. Between 1924 and his death he travelled widely in Central Africa, undertaking expeditions to photograph "disappearing" native African traditions in 1929, 1932, 1935 and 1937.[2]
His albums and a postcard series collectively entitled L'Afrique qui disparaît! gained him considerable renown.
He died in Léopoldville in 1944.
Sources edit
- Krzysztof Pluskota. "Atelier Photo Cinématographique—C. Zagourski." In Christraud M. Geary, In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960. London: Philip Wilson, 2002. ISBN 0-8566-7551-2. pp. 59–68.
- Christraud M. Geary. "The Image World of Casimir Zagourski." In In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960. London: Philip Wilson, 2002. ISBN 0-8566-7551-2. pp. 69–79.
- Zagourski: Lost Africa. Skira, 2001. ISBN 88-8491-008-0.
- Zagourski: Africa perduta. Skira, 2001. ISBN 88-8491-006-4.
References edit
- ^ Rob Michiels Auctions
- ^ Christraud M. Geary, In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960 (Smithsonian Institution, 2002), 59-79.
External links edit
- Casimir Zagourski postcard collection in Yale University Library.
- Holdings of Zagourski photographs in the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at the National Museum of African Art.
- Web gallery of Zagourski postcards.
- Photographs by Casimir Zagourski in digital library Polona
See also edit
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