The exhibition Fishermen and Kings: The Photography of Olive Edis is part of an on-going project supported by an £81,000 HLF grant to share Olive Edis’ inspirational life and photography. Thanks to National Lottery support, Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) is in the process of bringing together collections across Britain and abroad to create an extensive digital archive of her work.  

Although relatively unknown, Olive Edis was one of the most important photographers of the first half of the 20th century and the first accredited female war photographer. Edis also used portraiture to record the lives of influential women of the time to demonstrate the changing role of women in society.

The Fishermen and Kings exhibition will feature more than 190 rare photographs taken by Edis between the years of 1900 and 1955. The exhibition focuses on her unique photographic technique which used natural light and shadow to create both striking and sensitive portraits.

The collection offers a rare glimpse into both high society of the day – including photographs of Edward VIII as Prince of Wales and a young Prince Albert (later George VI) – and portraits of the more simple life of East Anglian fisherman, which remained a favourite subject throughout her career.

The majority of the material included in the exhibition is on loan from the Cromer Museum in Edis’ home county of Norwich, with additional material from the Imperial War Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

Find out more

To find out more about the Fishermen and Kings: The Photography of Olive Edis exhibition, visit the Norfolk Museums Service website.

Take a look at some of Olive Edis’ photography from the Fishermen & Kings exhibition in our Flickr gallery.