A new exhibition breathes colourful life into old images of historic Cornwall.

Artist Joshua Barrett has re-imagined in colour photographs from Cornwall’s history that had previously only been seen in black and white.

And they feature in the Cornwall Council Archives and Cornish Studies Service exhibition ‘Cornwall in Colour’ at the Cornish Studies Library in Redruth.

The exhibition, which is free to visit and runs until April 14, includes six images that have been colourised and brought to life for the first time by Joshua Barrett.

The exhibition will also feature a range of postcards, books and images from the service’s archives which is home to hundreds of thousands of images – many of them are original glass negatives – of Cornwall in the past.

The images which have been colourised were chosen both for their quality, and for the story they tell.

Images include a 1940s RAF inspection, farming in Bodmin, a copper-clad early 20th century diver and a picture from May Day in Padstow in 1944 featuring American GIs greeting the ‘Oss.

Joshua is giving a free talk at the Cornish Studies Library in Alma Place, Redruth at 2pm on March 20. Booking is recommended on 01209 216760.