Frederick Gordon Tutton (1888-1930) was an early pioneer of colour photography and a founding member of the Royal Photographic Society’s (RPS) colour group, established in 1927, alongside Agnes Warburg and Violet Blaiklock. He joined the RPS in 1916 and was awarded a Fellowship in 1923. Tutton was keen on experimenting with different colour processes and produced three-colour as well as two-colour prints. He worked on developing the tri-colour carbon process in order to enhance and intensify colours present in the final print, and to make them look more ‘natural’ by using specific dyes. He was widely recognised for his ‘natural photography’ and received a medal from the Royal Photographic Society for his colour transparency ‘Wallflower, Pottery and a Book’. He was especially praised for the colour of his oranges and the natural-looking strawberries. Tutton is best known for his still life photographs depicting carefully arranged fruit and flowers. Nudes, portraits and scenic landscapes are also part of his oeuvre.
Born in Bath, Tutton immigrated to the United States in 1927 to take up an appointment in colour photography in New York and later in Chicago. His work was exhibited at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and The Pittsburgh Salon of Photographic Art. Tutton did not only make photographs himself, but also shared his knowledge in lectures on the ‘Principles and Practice of Colour Photography’. Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to his early death at the age of 42.