'It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world' Independent 'Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read.' Evening Standard Colour tells the remarkable story of Victoria Finlay's quest to uncover the many secrets hidden inside the paintbox. ' curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight' Sunday Telegraph

From mascara to nomadic carpets and pillar boxes, the story of colour is the story of the efforts of artists and artisans to reproduce the rainbow - and the impact their work has had on the world. On her travels she visited remote Central American villages where women still wear skirts dyed with the purple tears of sea snails learned how George Washington obsessed about his green dining room while he should have been busy with matters of state and investigated the mystery of Indian Yellow paint, said to have been made from the urine of Indian cows force-fed with mango leaves.

Colour victoria finlay