M+B is pleased to present Howard L. Bingham, The Rumble in the Jungle, a commemorative exhibition part of the gallery’s ongoing twentieth anniversary online exhibition series. Featuring newly produced estate prints, the exhibition revisits one of the most storied moments in twentieth-century cultural history, Muhammad Ali’s triumphant 1974 bout against George Foreman in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Rendered in vivid color, these photographs capture Ali’s charisma and complexity as he navigated the eight-week odyssey that culminated in the legendary heavyweight championship known as The Rumble in the Jungle. Bingham, Ali’s longtime confidant and chronicler, moves fluidly between the spectacle and the intimate, tracing the boxer’s presence from the ring to the streets, from jubilant public appearances to moments of quiet reflection.
Beyond the fight itself, Bingham’s lens unfolds a panorama of the era: the electric atmosphere of the “African Woodstock” music festival featuring James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, and Miriam Makeba; the convergence of global media; and the charged intersection of sport, celebrity, and postcolonial politics. What emerges is not simply a record of athletic achievement, but a portrait of an epoch of power, pride, and transcendence.
A pioneering photojournalist whose work has appeared in Life, Look, Time, and Ebony, among others, Howard L. Bingham remains one of the essential visual narrators of modern America. These newly released estate prints affirm his legacy, offering a luminous reintroduction to an artist whose empathy, precision, and historical vision continue to shape the photographic canon.