Madame Yevonde.Colour Pioneer

We recently looked at the colour photography of William Eggleston and noted how he found beautiful colour compositions in the informal arrangements of everyday things. Today we look at a photographer who created images of great beauty in a far more meticulous manner, Madame Yevonde. Born in England in 1893, Yevonde came to photography by chance when she responded to a job advert as a photographic assistant. Circumstances prevented her taking the job but the experience of seeing life in the studio convinced her that photography was to be her calling. She apprenticed herself to Lallie Jones, a leading portraitist, and set to learning the business. A quick learner, she soon moved on and opened her own studio in 1914 at age 21 styling herself, 'Madame Yevonde, Portrait Photographer'. Working in black and white, Yevonde built her reputation through the 1920s and in 1930 took the unheard of step to start working in colour. Using an early process manufactured in London called 'Vivex', she was able to create vibrant primary colours and delicate pastel shades, continually experimenting with colour and composition and building a clientelle for the new style. She created striking Surrealistic portraits of London society, imaginative still lifes and vivid advertising assignments, all in the Vivex system. These were her glory years. Sadly in 1940 the Vivex company closed and with it went the colour photography of Madame Yevonde, who steadfastly refused to use alternate 'inferior' colour processes. She returned to black and white and later experimented with solarisation, but never again did we see colour as rich as her love affair with Vivex.