Born in the town of Ain Beida in northeastern Algeria, Lazhar Mansouri (1932-1985) apprenticed with a nearby portrait photographer, and then established his own studio in the back of a barbershop. Local townspeople came to Mansouri to have portraits made, to honor various occasions such as a birth, a graduation, a wedding; or to document a relationship, or to acquire a personal memento. Mansouri’s work represents recent international recognition of the rich heritage of non-Western photography.
