This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The history section has undue weight, and needs to be précised. It is about the family, not the studio. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted.Find sources: "Deo Gratias Photo Studio" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Deo Gratias Photo Studio is a photo studio in Ghana. It was founded by James Koblah Bruce Vanderpuije and sons; Isaac Hudson and Ernest John in 1922.[1][2] It is the oldest operating photographic studio in Ghana.[2][3] It is located in Jamestown.[4] The studio is currently being managed by the grand daughter of J. K Bruce Vanderpuije- Kate Tamakloe Vanderpuije.[5][6] "Deo Gratias" is a Latin expression which means Thanks be to God.[1][7]

History

Born in 1899,[8] James belonged to a middle-class family in Jamestown in Accra, Ghana (then Gold Coast). He began learning photography from his master; J.A.C. Holm when he was 20 years old. After three years of apprenticeship, he founded his own studio by the name; Deo Gratias Photo Studio. His interest in photography led him to make portraits of British and Indian families, as well as black aristocrats. Prior to the 1970s, he worked with companies to cover product launches and rebranding exercises.[9]

Vanderpuije's son Isaac Hudson joined his father after schooling for sometime until he gained a government scholarship to study at High School for Graphic and Book Art (Hoch Schule für Grafiek und Buch Kunst), Leipzig, Germany. He was the first African to gain admission at the school's faculty of photography where he studied for five years.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b GreenViews (2020-03-16). "Deo Gratias Photo Studio, a treasure in the "ruins" of Jamestown". Green Views Residential Project. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  2. ^ a b "ABOUT". Deo Gratias Studio. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  3. ^ "Accra a century ago: life in Ghana before independence – in pictures". The Guardian. 2017-03-07. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  4. ^ "Deo Gratias, The Oldest Photography Studio Still In Operation". Ghanaian Museum. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  5. ^ Women and photography in Africa : creative practices and feminist challenges. Darren Newbury, Lorena Rizzo, Kylie Thomas. Abingdon, Oxon. 2021. ISBN 978-1-003-08741-0. OCLC 1152443884.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "People&Places: The 98-yr-old studio with rare photos of Nkrumah, Akufo-Addo's family, others". GhanaWeb. 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  7. ^ "Deo Gratias, The Oldest Photography Studio Still In Operation". Ghanaian Museum. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  8. ^ Africa, Art South (16 February 2017). "TELLING THE STORY: DEO GRATIAS By Billie McTernan - Art Africa Magazine". Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. ^ a b GreenViews (2020-03-16). "Deo Gratias Photo Studio, a treasure in the "ruins" of Jamestown". Green Views Residential Project. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
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