Hermione Eyre

The woman who pioneered colour photography

Madame Yevonde's 'Goddesses' series from the 1930s saw her controlling colour like a Renaissance master

‘Madeleine Mayer (von Samson Himmelstjerna) as Medusa’, 1935, by Yevonde. Credit: Victoria & Albert Museum, London. © National Portrait Gallery, London 
issue 17 June 2023

When colour photography first came in at the start of the last century, it met a surprising amount of resistance from distinguished photographers. But Madame Yevonde loved it, owned it, revelled in it. She invested in a new Vivex repeating back camera, exhorting her fellows at the Royal Photographic Society in 1932: ‘Hurrah, we are in for exciting times.

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