See more objects with the tag ombre, color gradation, spectrum.

Object Timeline

1936

  • Work on this object began.

1937

  • Work on this object ended.

1960

  • We acquired this object.

2017

2018

2024

  • You found it!

Color Wheel

This is a Color wheel. It was created by Hilaire Hiler. It is dated 1936–37 and we acquired it in 1960. Its medium is oil paint on composition board. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

While living in Paris before World War II, writer, philosopher, jazz musician, WPA artist, and color theorist Hilaire Hiler associated with avant-garde artists like Marcel Duchamp, Constantin Brancusi and Man Ray. Inspired by Ostwald’s color system, he worked to design a color system for painters. His wheel includes 30 hues, plus tints, tones, and shades (created by adding white, gray, and black). A rotating disk in the center identifies complementary colors and certain harmonies.

This object was donated by Hilaire Hiler. It is credited Gift of Hilaire Hiler.

Our curators have highlighted 7 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

Its dimensions are

117.8 x 84.6 cm (46 3/8 x 33 5/16 in. )

Cite this object as

Color Wheel; Hilaire Hiler (1898 – 1966); oil paint on composition board; 117.8 x 84.6 cm (46 3/8 x 33 5/16 in. ); Gift of Hilaire Hiler; 1960-244-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18433055/ |title=Color Wheel |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>