The 19th century saw the most exciting developments in new pigments since the ancient Greeks of 2,000 years ago. The industrial revolution brought new processing methods at the same time as man’s understanding of chemistry blossomed. In particular the ability to process heavy metals into an ever widening spectrum of colours. Colours which we now regard as traditional, such as cadmiums and cobalts were developed in this era.
Working with the most famous colour chemist of the time, George Field, we invented new pigments with greater brightness, permanence and variable opacity. New colours were invented in the company’s unremitting perseverance to improve the artists’ palette. Winsor & Newton were the first company to publish permanence ratings in 1892.