A color display having a monochromatic light source, an optical switch and an array of pixels formed of anisotropically emitting photoluminescent material may be combined such that large losses often associated with color filter and polarizers are avoided such that a high efficient display results. The optical switch may be a liquid crystal device that is tuned to the wavelength of the monochromatic light source. The monochromatic light source may be made from OLED material that emits in the violet, near UV or blue spectrum and may be polarized. The array of pixels may include a transmissive pixel when the backlight spectrum is the same as the color of one of the pixels.