Yevonde: the Suffragette who Revolutionized Photography

Feminist, suffragette and groundbreaking artist, Yevonde Middleton also known as Madame Yevonde, was a London-based photographer of portraits and still life throughout much of the twentieth century. Born in 1893 in Streatham, a district in South London, she set up her own studio after an apprenticeship with portraitist Lallie Charles. Gradually breaking away from traditional poses and techniques, Yevonde also started very early on to experiment with colour photography, for which she became renowned. A pioneer in photographic techniques, in the 1930s Yevonde used to great effect experimenting with solarisation and with the Vivex colour process. “If we are going to have colour photographs, for Heaven’s sake let’s have a riot of colour, none of your wishy washy hand tinted effects” said Yevonde in 1932 in an address to the Royal Photographic Society. Yevonde: Life and Colour showcases works by Yevonde acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2021, spanning a career of over 60 years and telling the story of a woman who gained freedom through photography - as she experimented with her medium and blazed a new trail for portrait photographers.