[Kitchen interior]
Photograph
Unidentified
Maker
[Kitchen interior]
ca. 1948
Dye imbibition print (Flexichrome), printed by Irene Fredette
Image: 16 5/16 × 13 in. (41.5 × 33 cm)
Paper: 17 3/16 × 13 3/4 in. (43.6 × 34.9 cm)
Gift of Irene Fredette
1989.1121.0005
Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on verso, BRC: 5 [circled]
TextWhile Irene Fredette is responsible for creating this colorful print, she was not behind the camera when the image was exposed. She started her business, Fredette Illustration Service, in New York City in the 1940s, when it was uncommon for women to be entrepreneurs. She made Flexichrome color prints for clients, including advertising agencies, publishers, and photographers. This photograph of a kitchen was first a black-and-white negative transferred onto a support of gelatin-coated paper or plastic. The gelatin absorbed dyes in proportion to its thickness, giving the image dimension and a more gradual tonal range than traditional hand-colored prints. Flexichrome was marketed as the most flexible color photography process because it was very forgiving. If a mistake was made, the dye applied on top would wash out dyes underneath.
