Finding the Right Picture

Walking up the stairs of Susan Williamson’s beautiful Georgian home adjacent to the Royal Crescent, it was no surprise to learn that her background was in art history.  Entering her light-filled office, I was surrounded by books, many of which contain the results of her painstaking research for appropriate and individual illustrations.  Under the professional name of Susan Rose-Smith, she has been a picture researcher for more than twenty years and has contributed to hundreds of books. 
‘As well as biographies, almost every reference book, whether its subject is health or history, quilting or gardening, needs appropriate illustrations which are found by a picture researcher.’ Explains Susan, who has worked in the trade since gaining a degree in art history at the University of East Anglia.
             ‘In those days, you didn’t seem to have to worry about jobs somehow. I went straight from college into researching pictures for a book on British architecture.’ The author was Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, a world renowned architectural historian who also happened to be a friend of the founder of Penguin Books. 
‘It was a good beginning and I then went on to work at Penguin, finally becoming their picture editor.’
Susan continued with Penguin after the birth of her daughter Imogen, but in 1988 decided to work from home.  She left London and moved to Bath.  At that time she spent a lot of her working life in museums, libraries and archives, trawling through picture catalogues.  But with the search engines offered by today’s electronic highway, the shape of Susan’s working day has changed dramatically although her contributions to the various books appear unaltered.
There are two types of author I work with.’ Says Susan. ‘Firstly there is the author who may be working on the life of a particular artist and will know exactly which pictures he wants to use to illustrate the work.  It’s my job to trace those pictures which may have been in a private collection and not heard of for 50 years.  The other type of author simply wants suitable illustrations and I am given a copy of the manuscript and have a completely free hand.’
Although the internet has been a wonderful tool for the picture researcher, Susan wonders if it has encouraged a dumbing down of the quality and variety of many modern illustrations. 
‘With limited budgets imposed by publishers, it has become increasingly easy for authors to download pictures from the computer and avoid copyright costs.  As a result you tend to see the same pictures used time and again; the researcher is only used for the awkward shots.  I suppose picture research to some extent is becoming a dying art.’
For young arts graduates wanting to become picture researchers, Susan does believe that it is more difficult today than when she entered the profession, but she equally recognises that there will always be a demand for an expert.
‘You have to know where to look for appropriate illustrations for all types of specialist books, magazines or TV documentaries.  At the moment, I am working on a book about China which has involved a visit to Beijing and a search for pictures of the Summer Palace before 1860 when it was virtually destroyed.  Getting hold of photographs that have hardly been looked at for over 100 years but which will be used in a brand new publication is absolutely fascinating.’
On leaving Susan’s home and workplace, I wonder if it is purely coincidence that someone who has made their life’s work, searching for unusual and interesting pictures, lives in such a distinct style of building herself.

Susan Rose-Smith, Picture Researcher can be contacted on Bath(01225) 425374

© Judith Cameron