Presenting the work of 30 diverse photographers from throughout Africa since 1940, this is the complete catalogue of an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Studio portraits of the 1940s by photographers such as the Ivory Coast's Cornelius Yao Azaglo Augustt, Senegal's Salla Casset and Meissa Gay, and Mali's Seydou Keita depict a period of great transformation in Africa. Examples of the 1950s include work by Bob Gasani, Peter Magubane and Lionel Oostendorp for the magazine "Drum", and featured photographers of the 1960s and 1970s include Samuel Fosso (Central African Republic), David Goldblatt (South Africa), Ricardo Rangel (Mozambique) and Malick Sidibe (Mali). These more recent photographs chronicle the development of independent countries and the emergence of Africa as part of the modern world. Contemporary artists in North Africa and Nigeria are represented by work on new themes.