Helen Messinger Murdoch | National Science and Media Museum blog

Helen Messinger Murdoch (1862–1956) was a remarkable woman—one of the earliest colour photographers and one of the first female aviators. Colin Harding tells her story.

Self portrait with American flag, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum / SSPL — Self portrait with American flag, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection

American and the daughter of an artist, Helen Messinger Murdoch took up photography in the late 1890s. She was a competent monochrome photographer, but following the introduction of the Lumiere Autochrome process for colour photography, in 1907 Murdoch concentrated almost exclusively on colour photography.

Miss Sallie Currier, Houlgate, Normandy, 1912, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum / SSPL — Miss Sallie Currier, Houlgate, Normandy, 1912, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection

Murdoch joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1911, becoming a fellow of the society the following year. A frequent visitor to Europe she showed her work at a number of venues, including the Wigmore Street Gallery and the Halcyon Women’s Club. In October 1913 she gave a talk illustrated with her lantern slides to a packed meeting of the Royal Photographic Society.

Woman and child, Japan, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum / SSPL — Woman and child, Japan, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection

Later that year, aged 51, Murdoch decided to embark on a round-the-world tour—the first woman photographer to undertake such a challenging journey. She travelled through France to Egypt and then on to Palestine, India, Burma, Ceylon, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Diego and overland to Boston, arriving home in 1915.

Mrs. Smith and Daughter, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum / SSPL — Mrs. Smith and Daughter, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection

The First World War put a stop to her globetrotting, but Murdoch hadn’t lost her appetite for adventure, deciding to take flying lessons. She continued to take photographs and in 1934, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the RPS.

Kaiosawa, Maids at Miss Tracys, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection, National Media Museum / SSPL — Kaiosawa, Maids at Miss Tracys, Helen Messinger Murdoch, The Royal Photographic Society Collection

The Royal Photographic Society Collection has about 600 autochromes and lantern slides by Helen Messinger Murdoch, mostly taken during her round-the-world trip. For this blog post, we have selected some of her photographs of women around the world.