25 Times This Photo Restorer Colorized Old Historical Portraits (30 Pics)

In the vast tapestry of human history, moments frozen in time through black-and-white photography have become iconic representations of bygone eras. However, the transformation of these monochromatic snapshots into vivid, colorized images by French artist Sebastien De Oliveira breathes new life into history, allowing us to perceive the past in a remarkably different light.

#1 Marilyn Monroe Reading, Beverly Carlton Hotel Los Angeles, 1952

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by André De Dienes

Amy Pontious : “Love her ❤️ love this picture!”

#2 John Fitzgerald Kennedy And Jackie Kennedy In 1953

Image source: sebcolorisation

Harlan Sarvis : “I love this one so much.”

#3 Street View, July 1958

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Robert F. Kniesche

Sleestak : “Looks like a Hopper painting.”

#4 Waiting Room At Greyhound Bus Depot, Detroit, Michigan, Photographed By John Vachon In August 1942

Image source: sebcolorisation

StPaul9 : “I can smell the sweat, maybe cigarettes.”

#5 Marcello Mastroianni, Milan, 1960

Image source: sebcolorisation

BPisaddictive 🇮🇹 🤌 : “Looks like he is watching his phone”

#6 Having A Drink In A Bar In Front Of The Moulin Rouge, Paris, Photographed In 1960

Image source: sebcolorisation

Amy Pontious : “How fun it would have been to go to Moulin Rouge! Definitely looks like a ad!”

D Wall : “Is she a messy eater? Or is her nose running? Or is she drooling over her cute date?”

#7 Actress Monica Vitti Reading Magazines At The Airport In Rome, July 1961

Image source: sebcolorisation

John Truglio : “Is the paper so weak it’ll fold over if she doesn’t grip it so carefully with that right hand?”

#8 Street Scene, Provincetown, Massachusetts, Summer 1937

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Edwin Rosskam

SleepSycho : “Lady on bike looks ahead of her time, by about 40 years”

Amy Pontious : “I love what she’s wearing on the Bike! ❤️❤️”

#9 Chauffeurs And Limousines For The Garden Party At The New Zealand Legation, Washington, D.C., May 1942

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Marjory Collins

Amy Pontious : “Nice rides!”

#10 “Virginia Lively Used To Be A Beauty Operator. Today She Works At A Filling Station.” Louisville, Kentucky, June 1943

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Howard Hollem

Mark Karol-Chik : “1942 Ford DeLuxe rag top!”

#11 Sergeant Franklin Williams, Home On Leave From Army Duty, With His Girlfriend Ellen Hardin, Splitting An Ice Cream, Baltimore, Maryland, March 1942

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Arthur Rothstein

Multa Nocte : “So sweet! ❤️”

Firefly : “To me, the colorized version looks more like a painting. Especially his hands. I like the original more.”

#12 Teenage Girls And Boys Train For Defense Work Made Possible By TVA At A National Administration School. Knoxville, Tennessee, June 1942

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Arthur Rothstein

Amy Pontious : “I wonder how old she is!”

#13 James Dean And Elizabeth Taylor Taking A Break From Filming “Giant” In June 1955

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Richard Crump Miller

Amy Pontious : “Love this picture two great actors! ❤️❤️”

#14 Teenagers Walking In The Fallen Leaves, 1940s

Image source: sebcolorisation

Daniela Lavanza : “Is it me or those teenagers looks definitely like people in their 30s? It’s not the first time i have this feeling watching old pics where people looked older that today’s people.”

#15 Italian Americans On The Lower Side Of Manhattan. Ice Vendor On Mulberry Street, January 1943

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Marjory Collins

Shaunn Munn : “The brick building on the right is the Knights of Columbus. Beside it is a church yard. Amazing how little has changed!”

#16 Actress Doris Houck, Photographed In Los Angeles In 1945

Image source: sebcolorisation

Zaphod : “Is that an iPad on her head?”

CaityDunks : “Her legs are on the gravel and her feet are in the brush. None of this looks comfy!”

#17 Betty Grable Photographed In 1943

Image source: sebcolorisation

Amy Pontious : “Love this such a Beautiful woman! 😍”

#18 Mary Cumming, 21, Secretary In The Office Of Designer Raymond Loewy, New York, 1956

Image source: sebcolorisation

Mimi La Souris : “my gosh, I hope she didn’t have to copy the whole book in this position and with a magnifying glass !?! patience and fortitude, I bet you did !”

VonBlade : “Even back then we needed “Do it for her” motivators to keep us going through the grind.”

#19 Young Pin Up Marilyn Monroe Posing For Earl Moran, 1947

Image source: sebcolorisation

Amy Pontious : “Beautiful!”

#20 Center Market Place, New York, 1940

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Andreas Feininger

Multa Nocte : “Lots of guns, there . . . . . . .”

#21 Actress Sophia Loren, Rome, 1963

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Peter Basch

Multa Nocte : “Always such a stunning woman!”

#22 Activities At Camp Nathan Hale, Southfields, New York, August 1943

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Gordon Parks

Multa Nocte : “Segregation in the US used to be so bad that this would have been considered pretty advanced for its day!”

#23 Pedestrians On Broadway Look Through A Restaurant Window To Watch A Cook Prepare A Pot Of Spaghetti. New York, 1937

Image source: sebcolorisation

Fullo Shit : “So people we’re doing that even before all the Shows in TV aired”

#24 People In Vale, Oregon, For The Fourth Of July Celebration

Image source: sebcolorisation, Photo by Russell Lee, in 1941

Oskar vanZandt : “Have wondered how they know which colours/shades to use?”

#25 Iconic Carhop Girl, Circa 1945

Image source: sebcolorisation

LauraDragonWench : “My brain just will not accept that such colors are entirely possible, that the past caught in these b&w photos was just as vibrant as today. Stupid brain.”

Vivian McBride : “I’m sure that the convertible wasn’t pink in that era, unless it was a custom color.”