The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 15, 2025

Les Franquis

1966
(Malian, 1936–2016)
Mali
gelatin silver print
Image: 7.6 x 5.1 cm (3 x 2 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2022.248.14
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Malick Sidibé would photograph as many as five parties each weekend.

Description

For each party, Sidibé would make these small prints which he displayed in his shop window the next day, encouraging partygoers to order enlargements. The images reveal the fashionable mix of Western and African styles worn to the social clubs in the newly independent nation of Mali. With independence came new social freedoms for young people, who danced the nights away to the twist, rock and roll, and Afro-Cuban music.
  • ?-2022
    (Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 5, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Les Franquis|url=false|author=Malick Sidibé|year=1966|access-date=15 June 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.248.14