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  • Smithsonian Color Journey
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Smithsonian Color Journey

The complex phenomenon of color perception has captivated artists, designers, scientists, and philosophers for ages. Color surrounds us in nature and in the world we create. Take a colorful tour through art and artifacts in the Smithsonian's collections. Discover ways of understanding the science of color with Smithsonian Libraries and Archives and the story behind the colors we create with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Color enthusiasts of all ages can download coloring pages from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has created coloring pages of some of our favorite portraits so you can #ColorOurCollections.

  • 1966-67 Color Palette by Dorothy Liebes for Sears, Roebuck & Co.

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Painting - Homothetic Triangles (Hippocrates of Chios)

    National Museum of American History
  • Color wheel

    Archives of American Art
  • Color wheel

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Des couleurs et de leurs applications aux arts industriels à l'aide des cercles chromatiques (Colors and Their Application to Industrial Arts Using Chromatic Circles)

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Create a color wheel inspired by Pat Steir

    Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
  • The Theory of Color in Its Relation to Art and Art Industry

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Specimen

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample book

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample plate

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Signature Collection, "Picnic Flatware"

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample plate

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Hint

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Modular Sofa Group

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample Plate

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Unisol

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Aluminum Tumblers (9)

    National Museum of American History
  • An Exposition of English Insects

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Color Rhythm, from The Mathematical Basis of the Arts

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Chromatics, or, An Essay on the Analogy and Harmony of Colours

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Buffaloware

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Die Farbenfibel (The Color Primer)

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Hesselgren's Colour Atlas: Colour Manual

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Farbenkugel in 7 Lichtstufen und 12 Tönen (Color Sphere in 7 Light Values and 12 Tones)

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Manufacturer's sample book

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Färg: den allmänna färglärans grunder (Color: The General Coloring Grounds)

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample Plate

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • A Nomenclature of Colours

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Sample Plate

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Formica Color Samples

    National Museum of American History
  • Standard Color Card of America, 9th Edition

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • The Color Harmony Manual and How to Use It

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  • Duraglas Color-on-Glass Swatch Book

    National Museum of American History
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