Captured in Colour - Rare photographs from the First World War

Captured in Colour logoCaptured in Colour features over 80 rare colour photographs taken during the First World War. The photographs in the exhibition come from the Memorial’s own collection of official First World War colour photographs and from the collections of the Archives Photographiques, Ministère de la Culture, Cinémathèque Robert Lynen, Établissement Cinématographique et Photographique des Armées and the Société Française de Photographie.

The Memorial’s photographs were taken, using the Paget Colour Plate system, in France, Belgium and Palestine by the well-known photographer Captain Frank Hurley, with a number taken in France and Gallipoli by Captain Hubert Wilkins. Among the photographs is a stunning two-metre long panorama of the old walled city of Jerusalem, the first time this panorama has ever been seen in colour.

The French photographs were all taken on autochromes, a colour system developed in France in 1907. A number of prominent French photographers are represented, including Jules Gervais-Courtellemont and Léon Gimpel. The French photographs, although not a complete record of the entire war, commence in 1914 and end with the victory celebrations in Paris in July 1919. Gimpel’s photographs of the Grenata Street Army, a series of ten photographs featuring a group of children playing at war, will captivate visitors.

Online Exhibition

An online version of the exhibition is available.

Captured in Colour - Rare photographs from the First World War
Gallery City State Start Finish
Australian War Memorial Canberra ACT 12 September 2003 29 February 2004
Museum of Brisbane Brisbane QLD 23 April 2004 04 July 2004
Tweed Regional Art Gallery Murwillumbah NSW 16 July 2004 22 August 2004
Artspace Mackay Mackay QLD 06 November 2004 12 December 2004
Geelong Art Gallery Geelong VIC 02 April 2005 29 May 2005
State Library of South Australia Adelaide SA 29 October 2005 27 November 2005
Albury Regional Art Gallery Albury NSW 10 December 2005 22 January 2006
Geraldton Museum Geraldton WA 24 March 2006 07 May 2006
Western Australian Museum Maritime Fremantle WA 12 May 2006 02 July 2006
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Hobart TAS 21 July 2006 03 September 2006

Captured In Colour: Education Material