Take a close look at these portraits. They have a certain freshness, staged in delicate yet intense colors. They could easily be mistaken for images of today’s pop icons, but they were taken in 1935 by English photographer Yevonde Middleton (1893–1975), who used the professional name Yevonde.
A feminist and suffragist, she opened her studio before World War I and within a few years had made a name for herself in London’s photography scene. She defied traditionalists, firmly believing that artistic images could be created in color — not just in the black and white that was the norm at the time.
These portraits are part of her best-known series, Goddesses, in which she transformed English high-society women into deities from classical mythology. Here we see Europa, Medusa, Ariadne, and Arethusa, portrayed as both sweet and powerful. Divine, in any case, thanks to Yevonde’s pioneering use of color — she chose to experiment with a complex and expensive process recently invented at the time, known as Vivex.
“If we’re going to have color photography, for heaven’s sake, let’s have a riot of color!” she proclaimed.
The aristocratic goddesses of Yevonde, whose work is held at London’s National Portrait Gallery, are the centerpiece of the Getxophoto photography festival, which in its 19th edition takes place from May 29 to June 22 in the Basque city of Getxo. Its director, Jokin Aspuru, explains that these portraits — measuring 2.5 by 3.5 meters — will be displayed in a public square in the town, because that is the very purpose of this festival: to bring photography out into the streets.
“Public space has to be for the enjoyment of art,” he asserts. There are 25 exhibits in total, most of them installations spread throughout the city.
Among them, Yevonde’s color will shine brightly. Besides breaking new ground in photography, she also predicted what was to come: “Exciting times lie ahead. Red hair, exquisite furs, and colored nails will take center stage.”
The exhibition Yevonde. Life and Colour can be visited from May 29 to June 22 in the Plaza de San Nikolas in Algorta (Bizkaia) as part of Getxophoto 2025.
Yevonde’s tricolor separation negative archive was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 2021.
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