Turning vintage historic photos in to color images

Color images resonate with those of us who grew up during a period when color photography was the norm—and color was obviously commonplace in 1985! But Seeff, the original photographer, made the conscious choice to shoot this particular portrait in black-and-white. And what happens if this colorized version becomes more popular than the black-and-white version? Should we care? Does it matter at all to history?