Tom Marshall (artist)

Tom Marshall (born 25 February 1988) is a British artist, YouTuber and image editor known for his colourisations of historical black and white photographs, often working under the name PhotograFix.[1]

For other people named Tom Marshall, see Tom Marshall (disambiguation).

Tom Marshall
Marshall in 2017
Born (1988-02-25) 25 February 1988
Leicester, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Lincoln
Years active2014–present
Websitewww.photogra-fix.com

Early life

Marshall was born in Leicester, England and grew up in Rutland and Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He studied Media Production at Brooksby Melton College and the University of Lincoln.[2]

Work

Marshall's creative process involves adding colour to black and white photographs using Photoshop. For images where the colors aren't known or for historical photographs he relies on research for accuracy and his best judgement.[3]

In a 2016 BBC interview, Marshall explained his motive behind photo colourisation. "People sadly don't take a lot of interest in a black and white photo, whereas if they see something that's turned into colour from 100 years ago, it generates a lot more interest".[4]

In 2016 the Irish Independent commissioned Marshall to colourise a series of photos from their archive taken during the Easter Rising. These were published in April 2017.[5] Marshall's most notable projects have been those to mark centenaries of significant battles of the First world war including the Battle of the Somme[6][7] and Battle of Passchendaele.[8]<[9]

Marshall's work was published in Michael D. Carroll's 2017 book Retrographic: History's Most Exciting Images Transformed into Living Colour.[10]

The Daily Telegraph published Marshall's photo of suffragettes Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst on their front page on 6 February 2018 to illustrate 100 years since women won the right to vote.[11] In April 2018, Marshall released a set of photos to mark 100 years since the formation of the Royal Air Force.[12]

To mark the centenary of the end of World War I, in 2018 Marshall released a series of 100 colourised photos.[13][14]

In January 2020 The Daily Telegraph published Marshall's colourised versions of John Thomson's 1877 photo series Street Life Victorian London.[15] To mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and Holocaust Memorial Day, Marshall colourised a series of photos of Holocaust victims taken throughout 1945.[16] For the 75th anniversary of VE Day Marshall was commissioned by the Daily Express to colourise a selection of photos showing celebrations in London and New York.[17]

In June 2020 Marshall released a series of photos showing the history of Black British people in Britain, including colourised photos of Walter Tull, Paul Stephenson and members of the Windrush generation.[18]

To mark Black History Month in the United Kingdom, in October 2020 Marshall colourised a series of photos depicting Slavery in the United States during the mid nineteenth century.[19][20]

As of December 2020, Marshall has a portfolio of hundreds of colourised photographs.[21] In a 2020 BBC interview he stated "My favourite part has to be the reaction I get from people seeing the finished result, especially if it's a personal family photo that somebody may have had in black and white for decades. Some people have said they had cried upon opening their emails to see the faces of people from the past come to life."[22]

Other activities

Marshall has a long standing interest in the British comic actor Will Hay and founded the Will Hay Appreciation Society in 2009.[23]

Marshall is a model maker and railway modeller.[24] In September 2020 Marshall's model of 'Buggleskelly Station' from the Will Hay film 'Oh, Mr Porter!' appeared in Model Rail magazine.[25]

References
  1. "These colourised photos of Germany's First World War zeppelins will terrify you". indy100. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. "Tom brings photos to life and tears to your eyes". www.meltontimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. Fessenden, Marissa. "Photographs Documenting the Struggle for Women's Suffrage Are Reimagined in Full Color". Smithsonian. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. "The faces of unknown WW1 soldiers". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  5. "1916 in Colour – Images | Irish Independent Archives". independentarchives.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  6. "Incredible colour images from WWI released to mark 100 years since war ended". Metro. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  7. "These Incredible Newly-Coloured Images Reveal What Life Was Like in the Trenches". HuffPost. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  8. Dare, Tom (30 July 2017). "Battle of Passchendaele: Remarkable images transferred into vivid colour". Daily Express. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  9. Mirror.co.uk (1 August 2017). "Heroes in the mud 100 years on – photos from the Battle of Passchendaele are restored to colour". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  10. Carroll., Michael, D. (2017). Retrographic: History's Most Exciting Images Transformed Into Living Colour. Great Britain: Carpet Bombing Culture. pp. 10, 72, 73, 84, 86, 92, 95, 128, 191. ISBN 978-1908211-50-7.
  11. McCann, Kate (6 February 2018). "Suffragettes 'should be pardoned'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. "These colourised photos of the RAF will take your breath away". indy100. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  13. Sawer, Patrick (6 November 2018). "Colour gives renewed impact to 100-year-old images of First World War". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  14. "Incredible colour images from WWI released to mark 100 years since war ended". Metro. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  15. Sawer, Patrick (5 January 2020). "A touch of colour casts new light on the Dickensian lives of ordinary Victorians". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  16. "Haunting newly-colourised picture of smiling boy, 4, destined for the gas chamber". Metro. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  17. "Photo journalism favourites captured in the UK national news brands". www.newsworks.org.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  18. Killelea, Amanda (16 June 2020). "Britain's black history brought to life - from World War I to Empire Windrush". mirror. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  19. "10 Colorized Photos From Over 160 Years Ago To Show The Horrors Of Slavery In America". Demilked. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  20. "I Colourised 10 Photos From Over 160 Years Ago To Show The Horrors Of Life For Those Living Under Slavery". Bored Panda. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  21. "The man bringing colour to 'shocking' historical pictures". BBC News. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  22. "The man bringing colour to 'shocking' historical pictures". BBC News. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  23. "The Will Hay Appreciation Society". PhotograFix. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  24. "Tom Marshall's Model Dioramas". facebook.com. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  25. Lunn, Paul. A. (September 2020). "Railway Hay Days". Model Rail. 278: 88–89.
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