A groundbreaking exhibition exploring the legacy of Picture Post, one of Britain's most influential magazines, is offering visitors an unprecedented look at how European émigré photographers revolutionized photojournalism and documented radical social change throughout the 20th century. The exhibition, co-curated by Tom Allbeson from Cardiff's School of Culture, Media and Journalism and Bronwen Colquhorn, senior curator of photography at National Museum Cardiff, showcases the magazine's international scope and political impact far beyond its nostalgic black-and-white imagery.
Picture Post owed its existence to largely left-wing Jewish photographic innovators who escaped Germany in the 1930s, following the same pattern as overseas counterparts like Paris Match in France and Life magazine in the United States. The magazine was founded by Stefan Lorant from Hungary, who fled Germany after being imprisoned by the Nazis. These European émigrés, steeped in avant-garde radical politics, developed the concept of photojournalism as "writing essays with photographs," coinciding with revolutionary developments in 35mm camera technology.
Reporting on Britain at home and abroad during a time of radical transformation, Picture Post both documented and influenced its readers through coverage of major historical events. The magazine published stories about World War II, postwar reconstruction, conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Cyprus, and the disintegrating British Empire. It fearlessly explored controversial topics including racism, multiculturalism, poverty and gender roles, while reflecting the lives of working-class communities often ignored by mainstream media.
Wales features prominently in the exhibition, with three dozen stories about Welsh issues and places having been published in the magazine during its run. Picture Post demonstrated particular brilliance in using local stories to illustrate wider social issues affecting society. In 1952, renowned photojournalist Bert Hardy captured images of Butetown, which along with Cardiff Docks formed part of Tiger Bay – Wales's first multicultural community. Allbeson invited current Butetown residents to select photographs for the exhibition, creating a powerful connection between past and present.
One of the most emotionally stirring Welsh stories featured is "The Valley That Waits for Drowning or Reprieve," published in 1957, eight years before the village of Capel Celyn was flooded to create a reservoir. Alex Dellow's photographs documented Cadwalader Jones, who had "bred a pedigree dairy herd, improved land, remodeled his house and built a new shed and barn," with accompanying text reading "Liverpool's plans would end his." The story demonstrates how Picture Post, despite being a London-based magazine, took concerned interest in Welsh political and emotional issues.
The exhibition faces unique challenges in translating a magazine format into a gallery environment, transforming intimate reading experiences into public art displays. While magazines are designed to be privately thumbed through by readers, framed photographs on gallery walls become untouchable art pieces. However, this challenge created opportunities, such as featuring unused images that never appeared in print. Unlike magazine editors who chose images that worked together on pages, exhibition curators selected photographs that could stand alone as powerful individual statements.
Fascinating ephemera throughout the exhibition includes Hardy's Leica camera and daybooks, negatives and contact sheets, offering insights into pre-digital photography techniques like manual photo splicing. Photographer ledgers contain sometimes very brief notes, while the magazine's characteristically chipper tone in text accompanies the visual narratives. The concise introductory text panels provide just the right amount of context, following an effective "show don't tell" curatorial approach.
Women's roles emerge as a powerful subtheme throughout the exhibition without requiring separate commentary or dedicated sections. Examples range from the 1941 photo-story "Should Women Wear Trousers" to a striking 1956 Hardy image showing "Teenage civilian girls instructed in handling a rifle by an Egyptian soldier." These images reveal the complexity and depth of both female roles and the political environment during the Picture Post era.
In today's visual environment saturated with moving images, the exhibition reminds viewers of the extraordinary power of single still photographs, requiring imagination to envision the motion and context surrounding each captured moment. Particularly startling is how these 20th-century images provide context for contemporary events. Humphrey Spender's 1939 photograph of a British Union of Fascists meeting at Earl's Court, London, initially resembles a Nuremberg rally until closer inspection reveals the Union Jack suspended above the huge audience – a chilling image given subsequent historical events and current political movements like Reform UK.
One photograph that particularly captures attention appears in the "Beginnings" section, taken around 1935 by Austrian émigré Edith Tudor-Hart (1908-1973). The image shows Rhondda Valley women on the street carrying umbrellas and protest placards, demonstrating against unemployment and poor living conditions. Further research reveals that Tudor-Hart was later exposed as a Russian spy, adding another layer of intrigue to the magazine's complex political landscape.
The exhibition succeeds in creating a lasting educational impact that extends far beyond a typical gallery visit. Rather than being something visitors simply see, enjoy and forget, the display inspires continued research and contemplation long after leaving the museum. The iconic 1951 Blackpool Promenade photograph by Hardy, showing two white women in dresses, becomes eclipsed by more politically significant images that fill visitors' minds with new understanding of photojournalism's power to document and influence social change throughout the turbulent 20th century.
