In 2013, a photograph of Chairman Mao sold at auction for 340,000 yuan ($51,000). Apart from being an image of the iconic Chinese leader, what made the photograph so valuable was the fact that it had been color-painted by hand.

Hand-colored photographs have all but long since died out after the coming and going of color film and the digital age of photography. However, there are a select few old masters left in China, skilled with putting paint to photographic paper.

Seventy-six-year-old, Cao Liuyi, from Kunming, Yunnan province, has been coloring photos for more than 60 years and is carrying on the age-old tradition to this day. Many of his customers have no idea that such an art form ever existed.

“His art is so cool,” says one customer. “I never knew you could color black-and-white photos, it’s just like using Meitu only better!”

Many customers cry in surprise when they see the miracle of an old man carefully hand-painting and transforming a black-and-white photo into a colorful artwork.

“Look at the face, it’s so fine and smooth,” says another customer as she picks up her photos.

Xu Hongjun, a student of Cao, and head of a chain of Yan Fang photographic studios, says that his teacher is one of only seven people in Kunming still able to hand-paint photos.

The process is labor-intensive and time consuming. First, a photo's original colors must be faded using chemicals until the picture becomes totally white. Another chemical is then applied to give the photo a sepia tone before the meticulous painting process begins. Typically, watercolors, oils, crayons or pastels are applied to the image surface using brushes, fingers, cotton swabs or airbrushes.

All in all, a single hand-colored photo usually takes two hours to complete.

Sadly, the rise of digital technology and the ability for almost anyone to edit and photo shop their own pictures has meant that even dwindling industries could be on their way to dying out.

“Digital technology means that people can edit a photograph much better than before both in terms of efficiency and effect,” says Cao with conflicted feelings.

“Most people nowadays will not have their photos colored this way. But a famous masters' work is an exception,” Xu says.

However, with recent high-yielding sales, and other examples of hand-painted works selling for 20 to 30 times higher than expected, it appears there is still a market for such works. 

Cai Liuyi, one of Yunnan's few photo hand-colorists at work. [Photo/ynci.cn]

A hand-colored photograph of Chairman Mao sold at auction for 340,000 yuan ($51,000) in 2013. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Edited by Owen Fishwick