Yevonde: Life and Colour at Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery closes later this week, offering a last chance to view these eye-catching portrait photographs in the flesh.

Pressphotoman reviewed the exhibition when it opened in the North East last November after a highly-successful launch at the newly-refurbished National Portrait Gallery in London.

Yevonde

A few days ago, the exhibition’s curator Clare Freestone was at the Laing to present an illustrated talk about Yevonde’s career in photography and explain how the show came into being.

Among several highlights and behind-the-scenes revelations was a video clip from a 1973 Thames Television programme presented by David Frost on the theme of octogenarians.

Then aged 80 and among the show’s youngest participants, Yevonde was briefly interviewed by the celebrated presenter about three of her famous colour portraits.

These included one of the writer George Bernard Shaw taken in 1937 and which the studio audience immediately recognised as a familar face by shouting out his name in unison.

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw16600/George-Bernard-Shaw

Two stills taken from the Frost programme featured in Ronald M. Callender’s article ‘Mrs Middleton: The Remarkable Lady” (The PhotoHistorian No. 195 / Spring 2023, p. 19).

So it was revelatory to hear Yevonde’s speaking voice for the first time and get a brief glimpse of her sense of humour and engaging personality in action.

Rights issues don’t allow the clip or any visuals to be reproduced here, but Clare’s talk was further proof that such events accompanying exhibitions are well worth seeking out for ‘exclusives.’

Yevonde: Life and Colour at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne closes on Saturday (20th April 2024).

https://laingartgallery.org.uk/whats-on/yevonde-life-and-colour

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