Hedda Morrison
Artwork Labels
Artwork Labels
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light
Hedwig (Hedda) Morrison studied at the Bavarian State Institute for Photography in Munich, later working in Hamburg and Stuttgart. In 1933, after answering an advertisement in a German photographic journal, she left Germany to become the manager of Hartung’s Photo Shop in Peking (now Beijing). According to Morrison, ‘The salary was modest – that was why a woman was sought for the job.’ Nonetheless, she learnt Mandarin and for five years managed the Chinese staff of the shop. After her contract ended in 1938, Morrison was able to provide for herself by working for an English art collector and dealer in Peking and taking on freelance photographic projects.
The works in this showcase are test prints made in the 1970s, as Hedda Morrison was preparing for her 1985 book A Photographer in Old Peking. They include photographs taken around Beijing, then known as Peking, that she arranged into thematic groupings. Together, the images form a fascinating insight into life in China during a period of great transition, showing the continuity of cultural traditions amid Japanese occupation and civil war.
Case one
Ordered left to right
Hedda Morrison
Germany 1908–33, worked in China 1933–46, Sarawak 1946–66, Australia 1967–91
Painting was by no means an all-male activity. There were many women artists
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.869
Casting iron cooking pots at foundries to the west of Peking
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.871
The scroll mounters
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.873
A carpet weaver at work
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.874
Pewter was used in the manufacture of many household utensils
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.876
Writing the titles on a Chinese work of several volumes
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.877
Paper-making by the traditional method, similar to that used when the process was first invented in China
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.878
Ch’i Pai Shih (1863–1957), the distinguished painter and calligrapher, at work in his studio. He specialised in painting flowers and aquatic life, especially crabs and prawns
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.880
Hand-planing the body of a Chinese fiddle
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.882
Case two
Ordered left to right
Hedda Morrison
Germany 1908–33, worked in China 1933–46, Sarawak 1946–66, Australia 1967–91
Embroidering a child’s cotton apron with cross stitch
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.885
Making a rubbing
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.886
Spinning silk floss into thread
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.887
Repairing a painting prior to remounting, work calling for the most exacting skills
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.908
Cloisonné painting
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.884
The cut-out maker worked by eye and memory, cutting several sheets of paper at one time
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.916
Wang Ch’ing Fang, another gifted artist. He painted landscapes in a style that was a break from tradition. Art was his vocation but he supported his family by teaching
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.949
Beating raw cotton to remove the dust and fibres
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.950
A moon guitar
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.951
Case three
Ordered left to right
Hedda Morrison
Germany 1908–33, worked in China 1933–46, Sarawak 1946–66, Australia 1967–91
Beyond the p’ai-lou was the entrance gate proper leading to the Tablet House which contained a great stone monolith standing on the back of a tortoise
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.891
Ch’ien Men, the central southern gate of the Tartar City, taken from near the railway station. The small horse-drawn cabs were rarely to be seen in the latter years of my stay in Peking
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.893
A p’ai-lou
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.894
A water spout in the north-west corner of the Tartar City
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.895
Detail of glazed tilework by Pei Hai
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.898
Duck farm below the city wall
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.911
Planting out rice seedlings
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.912
Coal Hill, the artificial hill lying to the north of the Forbidden City
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.926
Watering radishes by hand
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.913
Case four
Ordered left to right
Hedda Morrison
Germany 1908–33, worked in China 1933–46, Sarawak 1946–66, Australia 1967–91
The reed toy-maker, who would make his appearance in the summer and weave fresh reeds into a variety of wonderful shapes while you watched
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.903
Boy in a Mongol hat. This was a common and very necessary form of headwear in the bitter cold of the north China winter
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.904
The New Year Fair at Liu Li Ch’ang was of special importance for the sale of paintings and other works of art
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.907
Seamstresses sewing characters onto cloth banners
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.909
No title (Many fortune-sellers were blind and roamed the streets beating a small hand-gong to advertise their presence)
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.917
Beggar woman and her child. Over the years I often saw her and she was nearly always pregnant
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.919
The northern end of Ch’ien Men Street after snow had fallen and quickly begun to melt
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.890
A sweet-maker who blew molten toffee into a wonderful variety of shapes
933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.872
Case five
Ordered left to right
Hedda Morrison
Germany 1908–33, worked in China 1933–46, Sarawak 1946–66, Australia 1967–91
In the early morning elderly gentlemen practised t’ai-chi, the ancient Chinese system of exercise designed to perfect body balance
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.942
A quiet game of chess in a rich man’s home. The game is a contest between two armies separated by a river
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.943
Itinerant puppet show. The puppet master would roam the streets and set up his booth on the street or in a private courtyard, whenever it was wanted
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.948
Schoolboys under martial arts instruction. Traditional martial arts skills and acrobatics were preserved in the theatre and for popular entertainment
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.953
No title (Street procession with people carrying puppets)
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.906
No title (Street vendors)
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.902
The Chinese relative of the oboe
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.946
Itinerant refreshment stall for children. Wherever there might be a demand, there would be some specialist hawker filling the needs of even the smallest customer
1933–46, printed 1970s
gelatin silver photograph
Gift of Professor Wang Gungwu in memory of Margaret Wang, 2024
2024.915