Dear Guggenheim Museum, Can you tell me what that color is?

The Guggenheim Museum in New York has partnered with Fine Paints of Europe on two unique collections of paint colors. Apparently, it's not only Pottery Barn who gets calls of "What color is that?" After years of fielding that type of inquiry, the folks at the museum decided to do something about it.

Each time the Guggenheim mounts an exhibition it embarks on an elaborate design process to plan the gallery ambiance. Wall color is often used to convey a particular time, place, or culture, and must highlight the works of art without competing with them. The choice of wall color can influence how a museum visitor experiences the artworks, so this process is crucial to the presentation. Guggenheim Gallery Colors includes the original colors chosen for the museum by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as colors preferred by generations of curators and living artists. [source]

The Classical Colors Collection is a collection of 150 paint colors that recreate the color palettes of artists such as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Vasily Kandinsky. Each color was carefully chosen from paintings in the Guggenheim collection and matched by Fine Paints of Europe.

The Gallery Colors Collection includes 50 original colors chosen for the museum by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as gallery colors preferred by curators and living artists for decades. The choice of wall color in a gallery can influence how we experience works of art.  Learn more about the Gallery Color Collection here.

Installation view from Villhem Hammershøi, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, June 19-September 7, 1998. Photograph by David Heald©The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

Installation view from Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 12, 2007- January 13, 2008. Photograph by David Heald©The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

Installation view from The Aztec Empire, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 15, 2004-February 13, 2005. Photograph by David Heald©The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

I have the fan deck for the Classic Colors collection and the colors are really beautiful. They have an earthy muted look that is both modern and classic.  I look forward to using one of these paints soon!
 Check out the websites listed above as there are some very interesting videos about the use of paints, how they are chose to display art and how the paint colors can affect our experience of art.

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks! Subscribe to ::Surroundings::