See the Work

Where to experience Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's photographs in person, and resources to learn more

The Emir of Bukhara (Alim Khan), Bukhara, Bukhoro, Uzbekistan, 1911

Emir of Bukhara (Alim Khan), 1911

Permanent Collections

Institutions holding Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's original prints and negatives, plus the public-domain archive these images are drawn from.

Source Archive

Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

The Prints & Photographs Division holds the FSA/OWI collection — thousands of Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's Depression-era photographs. All are in the public domain and available online.

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Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Washington, D.C.

Holds the Prokudin-Gorskii Collection, bought from the photographer's heirs in 1948: 1,902 three-colour glass negatives plus album prints, all digitised and available with no known restrictions.

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Major Exhibitions

Notable retrospectives and exhibitions of Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's work.

1900
group

Exposition Universelle

Paris

Prokudin-Gorsky exhibited black-and-white photography at the Paris world's fair.

1908
lecture

Colour slide presentations

St. Petersburg

Public presentations of his colour projections, the same year he photographed Tolstoy and was introduced to Nicholas II.

1909
private presentation

Presentation to Tsar Nicholas II

Tsarskoye Selo

At the Tsar's invitation Prokudin-Gorsky projected his colour images for the imperial family and won official support for his survey.

2001
retrospective

The Empire That Was Russia: The Prokudin-Gorskii Photographic Record Recreated

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

The exhibition that introduced the digitally recreated colour images to the public, organised around architecture, ethnic diversity, transportation and people at work.

Books & Films About Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

Essential resources for understanding Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's life and work.

Essential Reading

Photographs for the Tsar: The Pioneering Color Photography of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II Robert H. Allshouse (editor), 1980

The illustrated book that first brought Prokudin-Gorsky's colour work to a broad English-speaking readership.

Films & Other Resources

The Prokudin-Gorskii Legacy Jeremy Adamson and Helena Zinkham, 2002

Library of Congress staff account of the collection, its acquisition and the digital recreation of its colour images.

The Empire That Was Russia: The Prokudin-Gorskii Photographic Record Recreated Library of Congress, 2001

The Library's exhibition and accompanying website, with essays on the photographer, a chronology, and sections on architecture, ethnic diversity, transportation and work.

Online Resources

Library of Congress FSA Collection Free access to thousands of digitized public-domain photographs Wikipedia - Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Encyclopedia article on the photographer's life, method and legacy. Library of Congress - Prokudin-Gorskii Collection The complete digitised collection of glass negatives, colour composites and album prints. Library of Congress - The Empire That Was Russia The Library's 2001 exhibition of the recreated colour photographs. The Empire That Was Russia - Photographer to the Tsar The exhibition's biographical essay on Prokudin-Gorsky. The Empire That Was Russia - Chronology A dated chronology of the photographer's life set against Russian history. The Empire That Was Russia - Making Color Images How the three-colour plates were made and how they are recombined digitally.

Explore the Archive

Browse 219 Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky photographs from the Library of Congress.

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