Bay View in Color

While sorting through artifacts within The Sembrich Collection, this unique colorized photograph caught our attention. The image is of the summer estate Bay View as it was prior to Madame Sembrich’s purchase of the home in 1922 and its subsequent renovation. Before the advent of color photography, photos were colorized using various methods. This was hand-colored using a combination of graphite, watercolor, and colored pencil.

Originally the subtle Italianate style structure shown here, Sembrich’s Bay View was quickly transformed into an iconic Spanish Revival villa with pink stucco exterior, matching her newly constructed teaching studio.

Have you ever wanted to see inside Madame Sembrich’s lakeside home? Now you can! Take a tour in our online exhibit: “A Tour of Bay View!”