- Mario Unger is an artist who specializes in colorizing vintage photos.
- He spent 3,000 hours turning black and white photos of famous figures in history and pop culture into modern color photos.
- He also edited stills from movies like "Casablanca" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Photography was first invented in 1837, and for decades it was exclusively in black and white. Even though color film was introduced in the early 1900s, black and white photos were prevalent through the '60s and '70s.
Artist Mario Unger spent hours painstakingly converting black and white photos of celebrities into colorized versions. Unger wanted to bridge the gap between the past and today, as black and white photos can feel super dated.
Keep scrolling to see some of Unger's best work.
Here's a more subdued portrait of Marilyn Monroe in her heyday than we're used to.
Monroe remains a significant figure in American pop culture, even today, almost 60 years after her untimely death at age 36. In the past few months, stars like Khloe Kardashian, Bella Hadid, and Cardi B have all been spotted "channeling Marilyn Monroe."
This still comes from the 1942 classic "Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Berman.
The movie was also professionally colorized in the '80s, but viewers hated it so much that it's now only shown on TV in its original black and white.
Walt Disney's feline friend does not seem impressed by Mickey Mouse.
Contrary to popular belief, Mickey Mouse was not a solo endeavor for Disney: everyone's favorite talking mouse was created by Ub Iwerks for Disney. However, Iwerks thought he wasn't getting enough credit for Mickey, so he left the company for a time. He eventually returned, but refused to work in animation again.
This photo of Disney comes from the Library of Congress, and was donated as part of the Harris & Ewing Collection, along with 400 other photos.
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