1907–1935Reputable sourceWell documented
Color Photography
On the timeline · around 1907–1935 ·
What happened
Photography had been black-and-white for decades. In 1907 the Lumière brothers introduced the Autochrome, the first commercially successful color process, using dyed grains of potato starch. Then in 1935 Kodak's Kodachrome brought vivid, convenient color film to the masses.
Why it matters
Color transformed how photography recorded the world, from art and advertising to the family album, and Kodachrome in particular defined the look of 20th-century color imagery for generations.
Sources
- Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. American Photography in Living Color · Reputable source