Exhibition:"Yevonde: Life and Colour" presents a pioneering London photographer; a woman breaking new ground

Presently on display at the recently re-opened National Portrait Gallery# in London until October 15th 2023, "Yevonde: Life and Colour" stands as a tribute to creative photography as well as to women who triumph in their professional developments, and deeply value their artistic freedoms.  

Visitors to the exhibition are greeted with 
a giant mural of the London photographer, Yevonde.
This self-portrait features Yevonde with the huge 
studio camera from her first studio at
92 Victoria Street, to number 100, then to
28 Berkeley Square in 1933.

Guiding spectators through a journey to delve into the life and trajectory of Yevonne, the trailblazing London photographer who pioneered the utilisation of colour photography during the 1930s, the exhibit narrates the tale of a woman who harnessed freedom through her photographic artistry. The exhibition illustrated that she fearlessly ventured into uncharted realms, reshaping the landscape of portrait photography.

Bolstered by The CHANEL Culture Fund, this exhibition builds upon "Reframing Narratives: Women in Portraiture," a significant collaborative endeavor aimed at enriching the representation of women within the Gallery's esteemed Collection.

A self-portrait shows the photographer in a stylish ensemble illustrating her interest in fashion.

Encompassing portraits and still-life compositions spanning Yevonde's vibrant six-decade career, the exhibition draws inspiration from her body of work archived by the Gallery in 2021, along with extensive new insights gleaned through the dedicated research efforts of the Gallery's teams.

Madame Yevonde was born Yevonde Cumbers on January 5, 1893, in Streatham, London. Her privileged upbringing in an affluent family provided her with the means to pursue her artistic and photographic passions, setting the stage for her creative journey.

Yevonde's modernist double portraits were her way to celebrate women's greater freedom and independence following the passing of the right of women to vote over the age of 21 in 1928.

Yevonde's career began in the early 1910s, during which time she established herself as a talented portrait photographer.  Her work were characterized by their artistic composition, attention to detail, and the ability to capture the essence of her sitters. 

Lord Louis Mountbatten and his wife, the heiress Edwina

The Indian princess Krishna

It was during the 1920s and 1930s that Yevonde began her experiments with colour photography. Her pioneering work in this area further solidified her reputation and set her apart from other photographers of her time. 

In an era dominated by black-and-white photography, Yevonde used the "Vivex" process that allowed her to create vibrant and distinctive colour portraits that showcased her technical and artistic prowess.

The Vivex process* involved the use of coloured filters to expose three separate black-and-white negatives. Each negative was captured through a different coloured filter—red, green, and blue - which represented the primary colors of light, were then combined to create a single full-color image. 

A short video in the final segment of the exhibition demonstrates the Vivex process.  To create a final colour print, the three negatives were projected through the corresponding coloured filters onto a piece of sensitized paper, which was then developed to produce a full-colour photograph. 

The Vivex process required precision and skill in exposing and aligning the negatives to ensure accurate colour rendition in the final print.

The couture designer Norman Hartnell

Yevonde was a favoured photographer among high society circles. Her portfolio encompassed royalty, socialites, prominent figures, and celebrated screen personalities.  

Margaret Sweeny (Whigham, later Duchess of Argyll) for The Sketch magazine.
Note the "flame-coloured feather fans of her dress" designed by Ana de Pombo for Paquin.

Some of her notable subjects included in the exhhibition were those of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his wife, the heiress Edwina; Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester; the couture designer Norman Hartnell; the last reigning Maharani of Jodhpur, the Indian princess Krishna; the actress Vivien Leigh who famously played Scarlett O-Hara in Gone with the Wind, to name but a few.

The actress Vivien Leigh 

Her unique approach to engaging with her subjects allowed her to delve beyond appearances and capture the essence of their personas, rendering her portraits more than mere visual records.

Among her renowned works is the "Goddesses" series from the early 1930s as shown above. This collection featured influential women of the era – socialites, actresses, and aristocrats – adorned in elaborate costumes that channeled various mythological goddesses. These portraits, visually stunning and symbolically potent, underscored female empowerment and societal roles.

While Yevonde's sitters were predominantly women, she named the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw as one of her favourite sitters.  

Yevonde's dynamic photographic style made her a sought-after contributor to magazines, particularly the Sketch and the Bystander, during the zenith of her career in the 1920s and 1930s. While collaborating with publications, she remained dedicated to her independent artistic pursuits and exhibited her works in galleries. 

As a career woman, Yevonde would picture women in traditional gender and marital roles with unusual surrealistic settings and props as a way to ignite and inspire young women who aspire to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives. 

She harnessed the artifice of embellishment and flawlessness to convey a compelling and influential message, igniting inspiration among young women aspiring to lead purposeful and satisfying lives.

One colour carbon print called Shelling Peas, for the July 1938 issue of Woman and Beauty.  In this, "Rosemary Chance" is portrayed shelling peas and smoking while dressed in a way totally unconventional for a housewife

Mrs Amy with Dog is a double profile ppeared as a variant on the cover of Woman and Beauty as wellas on an edition of Modern Photography: The Studio Annual of Camera Art.

Adele Astaire (Lady Charles Cavendish), dancer and actor during the 1920s.
This portrait of pastel-tones was published in the Sketch, featuring the sitter against a delicate painted backdrop with Chinese inspired motifs.

Apart from portraits, Yevonde also featured still life compositions using props within portraits and objects in surreal settings to inform a "visual poetry".

As a versatile and influential photographer, Yevonde's artistic pursuits extended her creativity to art and diverse mediums, such as painting and collage. This artistic background infused her photographic compositions with a painterly quality that distinguished her work.  Immersed in the intellectual and artistic circles of her time, Yevonde was associated with the Bloomsbury Group, a gathering of influential writers, thinkers, and artists. This association likely enriched her artistic perspective and propelled her creative boundaries.

Today, Yevonde's photographs are treasured as valuable historical and artistic relics, offering a window into the cultural and social tapestry of the early 20th century.

The "Yevonde: Life and Colour" exhibition stands as a tribute to her inventive photographic technique, acknowledging her significant contributions to the domain and solidifying her status as a pivotal figure in the annals of photography. Perhaps, her story could now intrigue filmmakers, serving as a captivating narrative for a movie about a trailblazing career woman. Through her artistic prowess and craft, she transformed into a societal influencer of her era.

All images of the exhibition by Lucia Carpio.

#The National Portrait Gallery has reopened in summer of 2023 following a major transformation project, the Gallery’s most extensive redevelopment since its opening in 1896.

*The Vivex process was developed by the British inventor Frederic E. Ives, an engineer and scientist known for his contributions to early photography and color reproduction. Ives is credited with pioneering various techniques and technologies related to colour photography, and the Vivex process was one of his notable achievements.

The term "Vivex" is derived from "vivid" and "exposure," indicating its goal of producing vivid and lifelike colour images. Ives first introduced the process in the early 1920s, and it gained attention for its ability to create colour photographs using additive colour principles—red, green, and blue channels—that closely resembled natural colour perception.  This process aimed to replicate the way human vision perceives colours by mimicking the additive colour mixing principle.