Yevonde: Life and Colour

Yevonde's 30s portraits of high-society beauties and Hollywood stars are finally getting the attention they deserve. Her work is significant in the history of British portrait photography, and this book showcases her experimentation with a range of techniques and genres. Her most renowned body of work is a series of women dressed as goddesses posed in surreal tableaux from the 1930s.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2023
Publisher: National Portrait Gallery Publications

Yevonde's (1893–1975) was a businesswoman and tireless creator, as an innovator committed to color photography when it was not considered a serious medium, her work is significant in the history of British portrait photography. Yevonde championed photography during a time where there were few women photographers working professionally, and this book tells the story of her life, works, and 60-year career. Yevonde: Life and Colour brings the photographers works together again for the first time in 20 years and features previously unpublished works. This book showcases her experimentation with a range of techniques and genres including color photography, portraiture, still-lifes, solarisation, and the Vivex color process, and repositions her as a modern artist of the twentieth century. This highly illustrated publication provides in-depth context to Yevondes images, considering their aesthetic and mythic references. Yevonde's portraits embody glorified tradition countered with a desire for the new. Her most renowned body of work is a series of women dressed as goddesses posed in surreal tableaux from the 1930s.

British Vogue reports that Yevonde: Life and Colour, an exhibition of the work of British photographer Yevonde (1893–1975), is opening at the revamped National Portrait Gallery. The show will feature a comprehensive selection of works dreamed up by this brilliant artist across a 60-year career, and is described as a "joyful show anywhere in the country." Jennifer Higgie of The Telegraph praises Yevonde's commitment to color photography, stating that photographers should adopt a motto of "be original or die." Yevonde's work is significant in the history of British portrait photography, as she was one of the few women photographers working professionally during her time. This book tells the story of her life, works, and 60-year career, and features previously unpublished works. The exhibition brings Yevonde's works together for the first time in 20 years, and showcases her experimentation with a range of techniques and genres, including color photography, portraiture, still-lifes, solarisation, and the Vivex color process. The book provides in-depth context to Yevonde's images, considering their aesthetic and mythic references. Yevonde's portraits embody glorified tradition countered with a desire for the new, with her most renowned body of work being a series of women dressed as goddesses posed in surreal tableaux from the 1930s.

Weight: 1738g
Dimension: 307 x 252 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781855145634