*with apologies for cross-posting*

 

 

The ARLIS Professional Development Committee has organised a visit to the Colour Reference Library at the Royal College of Art, London.

 

The visit will take place on 19th November, it will start at 2.30 until approximately 4.30.

 

The Colour Reference Library (CRL) at the Royal College of Art is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of colour-related publications in the world. Containing nearly two thousand books, together with pamphlets, swatches and journals, the library covers numerous aspects of the vast field of colour-based studies, encompassing art and science, theory and practice.

 

The collection’s many strengths include sections on colour and human psychology, the history of dyestuffs, and the 19th-century study of decorative ornament, with tangential subjects ranging from colour healing to camouflage. The greatest colour theorists, from Newton and Goethe to Chevreul and Albers, are well represented through their key works, alongside other significant, if lesser-known, figures such as Mary Gartside and Maxwell Armfield. The CRL also includes a wide selection of published colour systems and standards, ranging in subject from lead paint to the pigmentation of human skin.

 

Despite its apparent focus on a single subject, the span and application of the collection is considerable: it is at once historical and contemporary, practical and theoretical, arcane and accessible. Representing more than six centuries of study, the Colour Reference Library binds the history of art to the history of science.

 

This visit will provide a chance to see some of the most important works in the collection, together with a few of the more esoteric and obscure publications. There will also be an opportunity to see works from other visual resources in the RCA's Special Collections, including the archive of the Printmaking department and the College's photographic record of student work.

 

To book a place please email Katie Blackford at [log in to unmask]

 

Please note that spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!

 

 

Alessia Borri

Assistant Academic Support Librarian

 

University of the Arts London

Chelsea College of Arts

 

E: [log in to unmask]

T:0207 514 7901

@Chelsea_Library

 

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