In his foreword to Color Scheme: An Irreverent History of Art and Pop Culture in Color Palettes, Zachary Fine writes of the effect Edith Young's work has: "I see the contents of my visual life arrayed before me according to color, and it's as if I've entered the world at a secret angle." Young's work brings her keen photographer's eye to readers, isolating colors from paintings and showing the swatches anew. She writes, "While these palettes can be enjoyed for the color alone, the ongoing research project is committed to showing viewers new ways of thinking about artists' oeuvres and larger arcs in art history. Art and art history can be a bit intimidating, and I like creating an entry point that sets the tone with a sense of irreverence."
The book is accessible, focusing not only on art history but on color deployment in popular culture. The grids of the palettes are pleasing, in some ways built for the Instagram era, offering a simple path to learning about complex topics. Here, palettes reflecting, say, the reds of caps in Renaissance portraits and the color of blush used on the cheeks of François Boucher's portrait of Madame de Pompadour can be found alongside descriptions of the colorways of Le Creuset's iconic cookware, the exterior colors used by Jeep in 1973 and Tonya Harding's competitive figure skating outfits. By using typological categorization and by drawing attention to small details across a category, Young encourages readers to think about color more deliberately. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer