Madame Yevonde

by Robin Gibson

A pioneer of colour photography, Madame Yevonde was one of the most stylish photographers of the thirties and a keen supporter of the cause of women photographers. During her long career, which lasted nearly 60 years, from the opening of her first studio in 1914, her work never remained static and is invariably fresh and entertaining. In recent years she has become known for her series of colour pictures of society ladies photographed as goddesses of Greece and Rome which, taken in 1935, now seem the epitome of the decorative neo-classicism of the period. Published for the National Portrait Gallery's retrospective of her work, this book includes the only complete showing of the "goddesses" since 1935. It also features a range of her other colour photography of the thirties, much of it reprinted for the first time from her original negatives. Amongst these new prints are examples of her commercial and advertising work, "still lifes", flowerpieces and decorative abstractions. In addition, Madame Yevonde was an accomplished black and white portrait photographer. This catalogue is illustrated with a collection of work, from her Lady Willoughby de Broke of 1914 and Gaby Deslys of 1918 through photographs of the twenties and thirties (Lord and Lady Mountbatten; A.A.Milne, Paul Robeson and others) up to the 1960s when she photographed a number of famous women including Iris Murdoch and Dame Laura Knight.

119 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1990