Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
Ever wonder what images of Abraham Lincoln would look like in color? What about iconic captures like The Burning Monk or the VJ Day, The Kiss? Swedish artist Sanna Dullaway has put her creativity to the test to restore and re-colorize iconic black and white images of the past.
What are your thoughts on bringing color to these historic black and white images? Does it give life to the scenarios and people within them or take away from their nostalgic quality?
Abraham Lincoln Portrait Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
VJ Day, The Kiss by Alfred Eisenstaedt Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
Self-Immolation of Thich Quang Duc by Malcolm Browne Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
Abandoned Boy After London Bombing WWII by Toni Frissell Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
The American Way by Margaret Bourke-White Colorized by Sanna Dullaway
Check out more of Sanna Dullaway colorized images at DeviantART and here.
I find that the colored images really bring life to the events that are depicted. For me, instead of looking at it and saying “That happened many years ago”, and feel a disconnect from them, with the colors, it actually feels that those events REALLY happened, and I’m able to feel more of an impact.
Hm, she did a wonderful job on the project. I’m not wild about the project, though. I especially don’t like all the cleanup that she did on the Lincoln portraits. The verisimilitude goes away. The same thing would happen if you tried “fixing” the crack in the glass plate that shows on his final portrait.
Why not just draw in puppets and Justin Beiber while you’re at it?
The photos were black and white. The data that they captured, lack of color and all, is what was captured. Simply guessing at the color of the cars doesn’t make it real — only the black and white image is real. This is no more than a fancy coloring book exercise, no matter how fine the job of coloring. You can have real black and white, or you can have make believe color. And if you want the latter, you may as well add in some unicorns for good effect.
Color can help us connect. Most of us see in color, so it feels more real. That’s not to say the B&W’s weren’t amazing to begin with.
And the only car pictured is colored correctly. The car still exists (you can check the wiki). She certainly did her homework.
Sanna Dullaway did a great job colorizing the old photographs. I find the color versions very interesting viewing.
In my opinion, the coloured images by Sanna Dullaway certainly adds more emotion and impact.
I think it is like when Ted Turner colorized some of the classic movies. It is a novelty, but ultimately people prefer the original. The artist who created the image did so in black and white, so that is how it is best viewed. But Sanna Dullaway has pursued an interesting project.
You bring up a great point, and something to think about further-is color a novelty?