The art of colour
Homes & Antiques|October 2023
Exciting partnerships between paint companies and museums, galleries and heritage organisations offer inspiration for home decoration
Rhiannon Batten
The art of colour

Since the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) reopened in June, one of its biggest crowd-pullers has been Joshua Reynolds' masterful Portrait of Mai. Painted in 1776, it depicts the first Polynesian to visit Britain and was secured for public display following a historic deal earlier this year. Spectacular though the painting is, however, some visitors have found their focus drawn not only to such works, but also to the walls on which they hang.

As with many such recent refurbishments, the NPG worked closely with several interiors brands as it reimagined its galleries and public spaces. Dorset paint company Farrow & Ball was invited to collaborate on the redecoration of several galleries on the first floor, where the idea was to use existing shades to expand on architect Ewan Christian's original 1896 vision for the building. Other partnerships however, including the Ashmolean Museum's collaboration with Graphenstone, involve generating new hues that visitors can buy for use in domestic spaces.

The NPG's chief curator, Alison Smith, says there were three main considerations for the decorative scheme - respecting the building, exploiting natural light, and showcasing the collection. 'We wanted something that had a period feel, but wasn't so precise as to match colours used in those particular eras,' she explains. 'Charles Lock Eastlake, the first director of the National Gallery [and translator of Goethe's Theory of Colours into English], said that wall colours should be lighter than the darks [within a piece] and darker than the lights, and I think that's quite a good principle for hanging pictures.'

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HOMES & ANTIQUESView All
48 hours in FUNCHAL
Homes & Antiques

48 hours in FUNCHAL

Jenny Oldaker discovers Madeira's capital to be an elegant, artistic place with wide open spaces, verdant beauty spots and a picture-perfect sea-facing location...

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
LUKE HONEY'S Enthusiasms
Homes & Antiques

LUKE HONEY'S Enthusiasms

On an autumn day in 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster became the first living creatures to fly in a hot air balloon.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
Collecting NUTCRACKERS
Homes & Antiques

Collecting NUTCRACKERS

Not just for Christmas, these nostalgic keepsakes come in an abundance of novelty shapes and styles, offering character and affordability for budding collectors

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
WHY I COLLECT Medals
Homes & Antiques

WHY I COLLECT Medals

Oliver Miller, managing director of Bishop & Miller Auctioneers and Valuers, is fascinated by medals - for him it's all about the preservation of stories for future generations...

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
Fashionably CURATED
Homes & Antiques

Fashionably CURATED

Roni Lang's home in Deal, situated above her clothing store, is every bit as creative and stylish as you'd expect from a fashion designer

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
Work life balance
Homes & Antiques

Work life balance

Lucy and Guy Rutter - a ceramicist and artist respectively - have found the ideal place to live and work: a Victorian property in Faversham attached to a once-neglected studio...

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
Farm FUSION
Homes & Antiques

Farm FUSION

A farmhouse near Cape Town has been given a rustic-meets-industrial makeover, using found materials and objects, as well as treasures brought back from afar

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
SAVVY Sophistication
Homes & Antiques

SAVVY Sophistication

Affordable and intriguing charity shop and eBay finds are teamed with statement pieces in this impressive Victorian home in West Yorkshire

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2024
DARREN APPIAGYEI
Homes & Antiques

DARREN APPIAGYEI

The wood artist talks to Dominique Corlett about seed pods, creative reinvention and the life-enhancing feeling of turning a lathe

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2024
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
Homes & Antiques

Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS

From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place

time-read
4 mins  |
Special 2024