The Secret Lives of Color

By: Kassia St. Clair

Narrated by: Kassia St. Clair

A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume.

“Beautifully written . . . Full of anecdotes and fascinating research, this elegant compendium has all the answers.” —NPR, Best Books of 2017

The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.

In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh’s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk’s fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture.

“This passionate and majestic compedium will leave you bathed in the gorgeous optics of light.” —Elle

Fascinating

Fasscinating stories of colors! Thd only difficulty with audio is not seeing the colors.

The Things We Do for Color

I loved the degree of research and how her passion for color shines through in every chapter.

I also loved her seamless integration of fact and quotes into all the ways in which we take color and chemistry for granted.

However, the book was organized by hue and shade, and this made certain sections repetitive. For instance, ultramarine, indigo, woad and Prussian blue all have overlaps that become difficult to read because they are separate sections and that means certain facts naturally recur.

Overall, the depth and beauty of her research and writing, as well as her voice and narration as bonuses makes me recommend this book without hesitation.

I am a dyer, weaver, and spinner

I have become fascinated with color since I began spinning hand dyed wool top. The colors were so vivid and striking! But then gold became plied with purple and the resulting vest is too bold for me! What happened!? I learned about value and complementary colors the hard way. Since then, I have made an effort to learn as much about color, especially about how they interact.

This book touches on many dyes: indigo, madder, cochineal, woad, weld,and others. However, the focus is generally on paints because many of the colors come from minerals (cobalt, iron, gold, lapis lazuli, etc. ) or earths (ochres and clays).

The secret life of color is also a history. When did the color come into and out of fashion? Avocado, anyone? Did girls always wear pink? Not at first; they wore blue and boys wore pink.

The accompanying PDF file offers more colors than were discussed in the book. I still don't know what puce is.

Put Down Your Brush

If you're an artist, put down your brush and savor this fascinating book. You will learn some amazing facts about your favorite colors and be introduced to esoteric colors that you have never heard of. This book may even give you a profound appreciation for the pigments that you can buy so easily today, without risking life, limb and fortune. I'm an artist and loved this book!!

Enjoyed it as short stories

I had never before contemplated the history and methods of various pigment manufacturing. Fascinating stories.