Now a new project made possible by National Lottery players is turning the focus on her story.

Her work is held in collections across the UK and as far afield as Texas. Now the Norfolk Museums Service is providing everyone with the chance to access her inspirational work by digitising the collections and making them available online.

Cromer Museum in Norfolk holds the largest Olive Edis collection in the world. Here, tradition will be combined with modern methods, allowing visitors to use smart technology to explore the collections while capturing their own photographs using techniques from Olive’s time.

[quote=Robyn Llewellyn, Head of HLF East of England]"Olive Edis’ work spans social, gender and geographical boundaries to provide an incredible glimpse into the personal world of her subjects."[/quote]

A snapshot of Olive Edis’ incredible work

• One of the first to capture Canada in colour
• Collections of her work are held at Cromer Museum, Imperial War Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Media Museum and even in Texas
• The Imperial War Museum recognised her talents and asked her to document women in the First World War and the effects of the conflict
• Olive’s had her own studio in Sheringham, Norfolk where she spent most of her life. Many of her portraits are of local fishermen
• Her involvement in the suffragette movement and her trips to Northern Europe provide an amazing insight into the lives of women during the First World War
• Some of Olive’s famous subjects include Thomas Hardy, Prince Philip, Nancy Astor and David Lloyd George