Forbes Pigment Database

The Forbes’ Pigment Collection contains over 1000 colorants assembled by the late Edward Waldo Forbes, former Director of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University (1909-1945). Currently, the core collection of pigments is housed in the Straus Center for Conservation at Harvard University while Forbes’ private collection of pigments resides at the Institute for Fine Arts Conservation Center at New York University. Known subsets of these two collections exist in several additional laboratories around the world (see bottom of page for institution list). These colorants have been analyzed widely by most of the labs and thus the goal of this database is to provide one central, searchable, readily-accessible location for the compilation of any available information from all sources. The combination of this information will document the materials and aid in the determination of their compositions.

Database setup

Inventory lists and analysis results for the pigments are being added to the database as they are received. The pigment sets have varying numerical designations and limited bottle labeling. Where it appears that more than one lab has portions of the same sample (based on the number or label), the records are combined. The most common numbering systems are: 1) the 'new' system devised by Richard Buck based on the pigment’s color and chemical composition and 2) the 'old' or original numbers from the NYU collection. All numbers associated with a particular sample are included in the Pigment number field for searching purposes.

White Pigments

1.01 WHITE - Calcium Compounds

1.02 WHITE - Aluminum Compounds

1.03 WHITE - Magnesium Compounds

1.04 WHITE - Silica Compounds

1.05 WHITE - Lead Whites

1.06 WHITE - Zinc White

1.07 WHITE - Barium White

1.08 WHITE - Antimony Oxide

1.09 WHITE - Titanium White (after 1920)

1.10 WHITE - Unidentified

1.20 WHITE - Japanese or Chinese

Black Pigments

2.01 BLACK - Carbon Blacks

2.02 BLACK - Bone Blacks

2.03 BLACK - Plant Blacks

2.05 BLACK - Artificial Blacks

2.06 BLACK - Inks

2.07 BLACK - Miscellaneous

2.20 BLACK - Oriental Pigments

Yellow Pigments

3.01 YELLOW - Litharge/Massicot

3.02 YELLOW - Orpiment

3.03 YELLOW - Sienna

3.04 YELLOW - Yellow Ochre

3.05 YELLOW - Gamboge

3.06 YELLOW - Naples Yellow

3.07 YELLOW - Saffron

3.08 YELLOW - Chrome Yellow

3.09 YELLOW - Yellow Lake

3.10 YELLOW - Cadmium Yellow

3.11 YELLOW - Cobalt Yellow

3.12 YELLOW - Mars yellow

3.13 YELLOW - TitaniumYellow

3.14 YELLOW - Indian Yellow

3.15 YELLOW - Miscellaneous

3.20 YELLOW - Oriental Pigments

Brown Pigments

4.01 BROWN - Burnt Umber

4.02 BROWN - Raw Umber

4.03 BROWN - Burnt Terra Verte

4.04 BROWN - Bituminous Browns

4.06 BROWN - Mars Brown

4.07 BROWN - Miscellaneous

4.20 BROWN - Oriental Brown

Orange Pigments

5.01 ORANGE - Arsenic Sulfides

5.02 ORANGE - Chrome Orange

5.03 ORANGE - Cadmium Orange

5.04 ORANGE - Molybdate Orange

5.05 ORANGE - Miscellaneous

5.20 ORANGE - Oriental Pigments

Red Pigments

6.01 RED - Burnt Siennas

6.02 RED - Natural Iron Oxide Reds

6.03 RED - Natural Dyes and Stains

6.04 RED - Synthetic Red Dyestuffs

6.05 RED - Vermilion

6.06 RED - Ultramarine Red

6.07 RED - Cadmium Red

6.08 RED - Mars Red

6.09 RED - Miscellaneous

6.20 RED - Oriental Pigments

Violet Pigments

7.01 VIOLET - Violet Pigments (artificial)

7.20 VIOLET - Oriental Pigments

Blue Pigments

8.01 BLUE - Copper Blues (Carbonates and Oxides)

8.02 BLUE - Ultramarine Blue (Natural and Artificial)

8.03 BLUE - Cobalt Blues

8.04 BLUE - Prussian Blue

8.05 BLUE - Manganese Blue (1935)

8.06 BLUE - Cyanine Blues

8.07 BLUE - Blue Toners

8.08 BLUE - Indigo

8.09 BLUE - Maya Blue

8.10 BLUE - Miscellaneous

8.20 BLUE - Oriental Pigments

Green Pigments

9.01 GREEN - Terre Verte

9.02 GREEN - Malachite

9.03 GREEN - Verdigris

9.05 GREEN - Cobalt Green, 1780

9.06 GREEN - Arsenic Greens- Emerald Green1814

9.07 GREEN - Chrome Green, c 1820

9.08 GREEN - Ultramarine Green

9.09 GREEN - Viridian-Verte Emeraude c.1838

9.10 GREEN - Chromium Oxide, c. 1862

9.11 GREEN - Organic Greens

9.12 GREEN - Miscellaneous

9.20 GREEN - Oriental Green

Institution list

While this list may not be comprehensive, the following institutions are recognized as having subsets of these two collections. Additionally, many institutions further developed their collections with additional materials. One significant set is a collection of Asian pigments produced by Rutherford Gettens, Fogg Art Museum, and Richard Buck, Intermuseum Conservation Laboratory. This collection now resides at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and small subsets exist in other labs.