The Development of Decorative Gloss Paints in Britain and the United States C. 1910–1960

Abstract

Since the early part of the twentieth century, decorative gloss paints have been used by numerous artists. Despite the fact that museums and galleries have been analysing the paint on such works of art for a number of years, the absence of a coherent, structured history of the developments made in the gloss paint industry makes it difficult to interpret these results, or place them within an historical context. In this paper, the history of the gloss paint industries in Britain and the United States from the 1910s to the 1960s is outlined. The focus is on the American company, DuPont, and the British company, Imperial Chemical Industries. The different types of natural and synthetic resins used in gloss paint manufacture are discussed, including naturally occurring oils, gums and resins, alkyd-modified nitrocellulose, and oil-modified alkyds. Specific examples of each type of paint found on works of art are also given.