A Domestic Affair

This work by Frederick Gordon Tutton is an example of very early colour photography. Using everyday kitchen items for his still life, Tutton created separation negatives, which were photographed through different coloured filters. He then made the colours by pressing each separation against carbon tissue of the appropriate colour. These were then superimposed to make the final colour print.

Born in Bath, Tutton lived in Exeter for a time where he was secretary to the Exeter Camera Club from 1915–25. He moved to America in 1927 to continue his colour work but died in an accident in 1930.

Visual description: A photograph showing an arrangement of vegetables and kitchen utensils on a wooden table. The colours are slightly muted. On the left, a stack of four tomatoes rests against a bunch of radishes. A bowl of lettuce sits on the left of a bottle of white vinegar behind the radishes. In the centre of the table is a brown ceramic-lidded cooking pot. A cucumber crosses in front of the pot on the right with three spring onions and another tomato resting against it. There is a jar of Lazenby’s mayonnaise behind the cucumber and a knife with a white handle on the right. The blade is facing away.