Specimens of watercolours painted to test the stability of the pigments
1886
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1886
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This is a grid of small watercolor swatches, each labeled with a color name like "Cobalt Blue" or "Indian Yellow." The samples are neat, some faded, others bright, arranged in rows. A few have extra notes like "Roberson" or "Newman" scrawled underneath. The date "Sept. 1886" is written in the center, showing this was made over 130 years ago. It looks like an artist’s test—each color was painted to see how well it held up over time. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more of these color experiments.
