“Color Problems” by Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
Introduction Essay:
“To Capture the Music of Light”
by Alan Bruton, 2018
Book Publication & Exhibition Development
Current
In developing curriculum on color studies in 2010, an inspiring and little known body of existing work emerged.
Alan Bruton contributed the introduction essay to the first reprinting of the 1902 book “Color Problems, a Practical Guide to the Lay Student of Color” by Emily Noyes Vanderpoel.
The introduction provides contemporary context in art and design for Vanderpoel’s work.
An exhibition about the life, subject matter, means of production and produced works of this remarkable early design thinker and proto-abstractionist, is being prepared for exhibition.
To read the essay:
To order the book in hardcover or paperback, follow this link to Sacred Bones:
or to Circadian Press:
For the New York Times article by Julie Lasky about the re-publication of the book:
New Life for a 1902 Color Manual
For the GoodReads Article:
Color Problems: An Exciting New Reissue Revises Color Theory & Design History
For the PrintMag Article:
Color Problems: An Exciting New Reissue Revises Color Theory & Design History
For the HyperAllergic Article:
Revisiting Emily Vanderpoel’s Color Theory Book 117 Years After Its First Release
The original Kickstarter page and its videos are very informative.
Many thanks to the archivists, conservators, and librarians who continue to contribute to the scholarship of Vanderpoel, The Litchfield Historical Society, the Norwich Slater Museum, and to editor Keegan Mills Cooke for the invitation to contribute my research to this project.
