About 100 years before Generative AI materialized for the artistically-challenged, Max S. Klein, an engineer and owner of the Palmer Show Card Paint Company in Detroit, invented Paint By Number, incorporating elements of coloring books, painting, and in an abstract way, quilting or tiling. Klein figured kits featuring selections of his paints would sell product to non-painters. His employee Dan Robbins, a commercial artist, helped him with designs. The idea went through phases, but in 1951 when the company finally introduced the Craft Master brand of Paint By Number kits, it took off, eventually selling OVER 12 MILLION and spawning a host of imitators.
Aspiring Rembrandts can select from a wide array of subjects, although nothing controversial or X-Rated – painting by numbers is a wholesome hobby (in most ways.) However, just as with Generative AI, some kits skirted dangerously close to copyright violation (AKA theft) by using only slightly altered copyrighted characters. Pinocchio, Dorothy and Alice in Wonderland here are all uneasy mashups of Disney or MGM designs (copyrights enforced by lawyers), and the classic 1880s book illustrations (free-use Public Domain), but that Cheshire Cat sure is original!
Each Paint by Number kit comes with instructions, a board or canvas pre-printed with a design, pre-selected paints, and brushes. There were even decorative tins and other home accessory kits if wall art wasn’t your thing. The genius of the product is the numbering system – each paint color is designated with a specific number, with its intended destination on the board mapped out, region by region, in corresponding numbers. Unlike a coloring book where the lines only indicate outlines you can color in however you like, on a Paint by Number board each pre-printed outline encloses a single color, like a tile or an individual piece on a patchwork quilt. Look closely at the unfinished Alice in Wonderland painting here and the system is apparent.
Paint By Number’s slightly naïve look can be quite charming so there are serious collectors, even though there are many, MANY almost identical versions of every single painting. And there are other systems for novices to try out painting without enrolling in art school or apprenticing themselves to a master painter, usually by copying a sample painting rather than slowly learning the challenging visual analysis needed to paint from real life. Those other ‘quick’ learning systems have also resulted in many highly similar paintings, of which these two beach waves are nice examples. So, how do you know if a canvas is Paint By Number? Simple: in naturalistic paintings, say of a horse, or a seascape with a ship, many of the edges between colors should be blended, as they would appear in real life, especially on malleable surfaces like water or fur. But the Paint By Number system is too basic for blending, so even edges that should by nature be soft or blurred are sharply delineated, like the edges between floor tiles, stained glass elements, or pieces of patchwork. In a painting, that’s a distinctive look.
There were special sets of Paint By Numbers released by Palmer Paint Products in 2011 for their 60th Anniversary, featuring the Twin Towers in honor of survivors and victims of September 11th. An odd tribute maybe, but evidence of Paint By Number’s unique place in American culture. Paint By Number kits are still being made along with legions of imitatons, so there are hundreds of new designs available for both kids and adults. Palmer Paint Co Paint By Number’s designs are also archived at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, and there is an online Paint By Number museum. Or maybe just snag a vintage painting or kit from QBO!
www.paintbynumbermuseum.com
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!