Golden Artist Colors
Encyclopedia
Golden Artist Colors is a manufacturing
company
that focuses almost entirely on paints, used in the fine arts, decoration, and crafts. Based in New Berlin, New York
, the company produces the largest line of acrylic
colors that is currently available to artists, including recreations of historic pigments. Golden also manufactures and distributes the Williamsburg line of handmade artists oil paint
s, and the Proceeed Professional Decorative Painting System, a line of acrylic paints and mediums for architectural painting.
Golden Artist Colors has collaborated with artists on significant mural
projects, including: the Michlalah murals in Jerusalem by Archie Rand
, Venus
by Knox Martin
, and indoor murals by Frank Stella
and Roy Lichtenstein
.
joined his uncle Leonard Bocour
, forming a partnership in the paint company called Bocour Artist Colors. They produced hand-ground oil colors for artists and they called their oil paint tubes and jars Bellini. Their store in Manhattan became a hangout for artists through the early 1950s. Artists such as Barnett Newman
, Mark Rothko
, Willem de Kooning
, Jackson Pollock
, Helen Frankenthaler
and Jack Levine
would get paint there and visit with both Golden and Bocour (who was also a painter).
Between 1946 and 1949, and after a process of experimentation, the first artist acrylic paint
was ready for sale and it was mineral spirit and turpentine
soluble called Magna
. One of the first artists to use the paint called Magna, was Morris Louis. Eventually Bocour Artist Colors developed a water-soluble version of the acrylic paint, called Aquatec.
In June 1980, ten years after Sam Golden retired from the Bocour Artist Colors company, he founded the Golden Artist Colors, Inc., along with his wife Adele, son Mark and daughter-in-law Barbara Golden and partner Chuck Kelly. They began making paint in a 900 square feet (83.6 m²), renovated barn in upstate New York.
The company received many awards including the 1991 Business Arts Award by the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce and the Council of the Arts. Mark Golden received the 1996 Small Business Person of the Year from the US Small Business Administration
, Golden Artist Colors was featured on the NBC Nightly News
as a successful small business. In 1998 Mark Golden was selected by Fortune Magazine to appear in its video series on small business.
When Sam Golden died at age 82, in 1997, he left behind a long legacy of participation in the creative process of artists and their materials. The Golden company added 31000 square feet (2,880 m²) to its manufacturing facility in 1997 and took down the "old barn", replacing it with state-of-the-art technical laboratories and paint manufacturing equipment. The company laboratories are actively studying and developing new and better innovations to make their acrylic paint increasingly durable and sophisticated. In the 21st century they have developed new colors, new mediums, new slow-drying paints and high chroma fluid products that were impossible to even contemplate when the company began back in the 1980s.
and surface options for acrylic and oil painters. Acrylic gesso is produced in high-load black and white versions. Golden also produces grounds for pastel
and silverpoint
drawing, and an absorbent acrylic ground for watercolor painting and staining effects.
varnishes with ultraviolet light blocking properties are made for use with acrylic paints. Mineral spirit based MSA varnishes are made for use with both acrylic and oil colors.
, and mineral spirit borne acrylic colors for conservators.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
that focuses almost entirely on paints, used in the fine arts, decoration, and crafts. Based in New Berlin, New York
New Berlin, New York
New Berlin, New York is the name of two locations in Chenango County, New York:*New Berlin , New York*New Berlin , New York...
, the company produces the largest line of acrylic
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
colors that is currently available to artists, including recreations of historic pigments. Golden also manufactures and distributes the Williamsburg line of handmade artists oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
s, and the Proceeed Professional Decorative Painting System, a line of acrylic paints and mediums for architectural painting.
Golden Artist Colors has collaborated with artists on significant mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
projects, including: the Michlalah murals in Jerusalem by Archie Rand
Archie Rand
Archie Rand is an artist from Brooklyn, New York. Rand's work as a painter and muralist is displayed around the world, including in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale de...
, Venus
Venus (mural)
Venus is a twelve-story-high mural painting by Knox Martin on the south side of Bayview Correctional Facility at 19th Street and 11th Avenue in New York City.Venus was commissioned by Doris Freedman of CityWalls in 1970...
by Knox Martin
Knox Martin
Knox Martin is an American painter, sculptor and muralist.Born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 till 1950. He is one of the leading members of New York School - a group of artists and writers. He lives and works in New York City."Art is...
, and indoor murals by Frank Stella
Frank Stella
Frank Stella is an American painter and printmaker, significant within the art movements of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction.-Biography:...
and Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
.
History of Golden Artist Colors
During the 1930s, Sam GoldenSam Golden
Sam Golden started his paintmaking career in 1936 at Bocour Artist Colors with his uncle Leonard Bocour. In 1947 he developed Magna paint, the world's first artist acrylic paint. He returned from retirement in 1980 to found Golden Artist Colors Inc...
joined his uncle Leonard Bocour
Leonard Bocour
Leonard Bocour was born on March 18, 1910 in New York City, and he died September 6, 1993. Around 1933 he formed the New York City based company Bocour Artists Colors. He was the co-developer along with Sam Golden of Magna paint in the late 1940s. From 1952 until 1970 he and Sam Golden were...
, forming a partnership in the paint company called Bocour Artist Colors. They produced hand-ground oil colors for artists and they called their oil paint tubes and jars Bellini. Their store in Manhattan became a hangout for artists through the early 1950s. Artists such as Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters.-Early life:...
, Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
, Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler is an American abstract expressionist painter. She is a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work in six decades she has spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work...
and Jack Levine
Jack Levine
Jack Levine was an American Social Realist painter and printmaker best known for his satires on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives.-Biography:...
would get paint there and visit with both Golden and Bocour (who was also a painter).
Between 1946 and 1949, and after a process of experimentation, the first artist acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
was ready for sale and it was mineral spirit and turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
soluble called Magna
Magna
-Companies, products and institutions:* Magna , an American bicycle brand* Magna International, Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer** Magna Steyr, a subsidiary* Magna Natural Stone, Germanys biggest producer of natural stones...
. One of the first artists to use the paint called Magna, was Morris Louis. Eventually Bocour Artist Colors developed a water-soluble version of the acrylic paint, called Aquatec.
In June 1980, ten years after Sam Golden retired from the Bocour Artist Colors company, he founded the Golden Artist Colors, Inc., along with his wife Adele, son Mark and daughter-in-law Barbara Golden and partner Chuck Kelly. They began making paint in a 900 square feet (83.6 m²), renovated barn in upstate New York.
The company received many awards including the 1991 Business Arts Award by the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce and the Council of the Arts. Mark Golden received the 1996 Small Business Person of the Year from the US Small Business Administration
Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses...
, Golden Artist Colors was featured on the NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
as a successful small business. In 1998 Mark Golden was selected by Fortune Magazine to appear in its video series on small business.
When Sam Golden died at age 82, in 1997, he left behind a long legacy of participation in the creative process of artists and their materials. The Golden company added 31000 square feet (2,880 m²) to its manufacturing facility in 1997 and took down the "old barn", replacing it with state-of-the-art technical laboratories and paint manufacturing equipment. The company laboratories are actively studying and developing new and better innovations to make their acrylic paint increasingly durable and sophisticated. In the 21st century they have developed new colors, new mediums, new slow-drying paints and high chroma fluid products that were impossible to even contemplate when the company began back in the 1980s.
Golden Acrylic Colors
Golden manufactures the largest range of colors currently available for artists. Most of its acrylic paints are available in both heavy body and fluid mixtures. Heavy body paints are high viscosity and mimic the typical tube consistency of oil paints, while fluid paints are liquid but maintain an extremely high pigment load. A variety of mediums are also available to alter the viscosity, drying time, sheen, and other material properties of the paint.Gessoes and Grounds
Golden gessoes and grounds provide sizingSizing
Sizing or size is any one of numerous specific substances that is applied to or incorporated in other material, especially papers and textiles, to act as a protecting filler or glaze....
and surface options for acrylic and oil painters. Acrylic gesso is produced in high-load black and white versions. Golden also produces grounds for pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
and silverpoint
Silverpoint
Silverpoint is a traditional drawing technique first used by Medieval scribes on manuscripts.-History:A silverpoint drawing is made by dragging a silver rod or wire across a surface, often prepared with gesso or primer. Silverpoint is one of several types of metalpoint used by scribes, craftsmen...
drawing, and an absorbent acrylic ground for watercolor painting and staining effects.
Varnishes
Golden produces two lines of final picture varnishes. PolymerPolymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
varnishes with ultraviolet light blocking properties are made for use with acrylic paints. Mineral spirit based MSA varnishes are made for use with both acrylic and oil colors.
Open Acrylic Colors and Mediums
In 2007 Golden began marketing a line of newly developed acrylic paints, called the Open Acrylic Painting System. These specially formulated paints have increased drying and working time. The system is intended to give acrylic painters access to the wet in wet painting techniques favored by oil painters. While Open colors and mediums dry slowly, they still dry far more quickly than traditional oil paints and mediums.Custom Products
In addition to its regular line of artists materials, golden also produces custom products for painters, some of which become available to the general public. These currently include extra high pigment load acrylic paints, paste paints, a variety of mediums and additives, stop out varnish for etchingEtching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
, and mineral spirit borne acrylic colors for conservators.
Handmade Oil Colors
In May of 2010, Golden Artist Colors, Inc. acquired Williamsburg Oil Colors, relocating the staff and paint making equipment from East Meredith, New York, to the Golden facility in New Berlin. According to Mark Golden, co-founder and CEO of Golden Artist Colors, "there was no question that eventually we would make oil colors here. In fact, for over 20 years, we have been making custom oil paints for artists requiring unique colors or materials."See also
- Acrylic paintAcrylic paintAcrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
- Leonard BocourLeonard BocourLeonard Bocour was born on March 18, 1910 in New York City, and he died September 6, 1993. Around 1933 he formed the New York City based company Bocour Artists Colors. He was the co-developer along with Sam Golden of Magna paint in the late 1940s. From 1952 until 1970 he and Sam Golden were...
- Sam GoldenSam GoldenSam Golden started his paintmaking career in 1936 at Bocour Artist Colors with his uncle Leonard Bocour. In 1947 he developed Magna paint, the world's first artist acrylic paint. He returned from retirement in 1980 to found Golden Artist Colors Inc...
- Magna paintMagna paintMagna is the brand name of an acrylic resin paint, developed by Leonard Bocour and sold by Bocour Artist Colors, Inc. in 1947. It is very different from modern acrylic paint, as it is composed of pigments ground in an acrylic resin brought into emulsion through the use of solvents. Bocour Artist...
- oil paintOil paintOil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
- paintPaintPaint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
- watercolor paint