The landmark British photo-magazine, Picture Post (1938-57), was launched in the era of the Spanish Civil War and the Popular Front. Conceived for Hulton Press by Stefan Lorant (a Hungarian editor exiled from Nazi Germany), Picture Post had a transnational staff and a global outlook. It was the leading British example of an international phenomenon – the birth of photojournalism and the photo-essay. The equivalent of Life in the US and Paris-Match in France, the magazine achieved circulation figures of 1.7 million.
Before the establishment of large television audiences, the photographs published in this general readership magazine offered audiences a shared perspective on the UK and its place in the world. Picture Post reported extensively on the Second World War as it unfolded across the globe, as well as documenting both the Cold War and the wars of decolonization after 1945. It helped popularise a progressive attitude to society and politics, shaping the debate about postwar reconstruction and the establishment of the welfare state. Yet, its coverage also reflected sexist and racist ideas of the era, as well as patronizing or critical perspectives on disadvantaged communities and young adults.
To mark the opening of a major exhibition about Picture Post at Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, we will be hosting a one-day public workshop that aims to bring together an international cohort of researchers, curators, archivists and librarians to discuss the development and impact of Picture Post.
We invite proposals for 15-minute papers or panels of 3 to 4 contributors. Please send a title, abstract (250 words) and short biography (150 words) to Tom Allbeson e: allbesont@cardiff.ac.uk.
We encourage contributors to engage with the multifaceted histories relating to the genesis, development and legacy of Picture Post. We are interested in a broad range of methodological approaches to the emergence of photojournalism and the photo-essay format pioneered by mid-century, general readership photo-magazines.
Picture Post (1938-57): Genesis, History & Legacy of a Photo-Magazine
One-day workshop, Cardiff, Friday, 13 June 2025
Deadline for CFP: Friday 14 March 2025
Programme announced: Friday 14 April 2025
Read the full call here (CFP - Picture Post Workshop, June 2025.pdf)
Organisers:
Dr Tom Allbeson, Reader in Media & Photographic History, Cardiff University, allbesont@cardiff.ac.uk
Dr Bronwen Colquhoun, Senior Curator of Photography, Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, bronwen.colquhoun@museumwales.ac.uk
The event is co-hosted by the Tom Hopkinson Centre for Media History (School of Journalism, Media & Culture, Cardiff University) and Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales.
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