Description
This is one of the finest reds available on the artist palette. It is more lightfast than other reds including cadmium red. It is also more saturated than cadmium red. PR254 is semiopaque, highly staining, dark valued, and intense. We make the paint with cold-pressed walnut oil so that the color will remain clear and bright over time.
The pigment in this paint was first synthesized in 1974 by Michigan State University chemistry professor Donald G. Farnum. Farnum was attempting to create a different compound, but this color turned up in the laboratory flask. He published the results of the experiment, but forgot about it. The process for producing the pigment was actually later developed by a Swiss company that made huge amounts of profit from it. Pr 254 originally sold for $100 per kilogram. Recently, 10 paintings attributed to Jackson Pollock in the late 1940s, have been tested and show the presence of Pr 254. This raises serious questions about the paintings’ authenticity.
Before Pigment Red 254 became widely available in the late 1980s, red paint tended to fade and develop a hazy coating called “chalking.” Pr 254, in comparison, remains bright, lightfast and resistant to ultraviolet light, and it stays stable in both heat and cold. CI:Pr254
ASTM I – Excellent
Opaque
The Art Treehouse red 254 is pure, with no added secondary pigments – it is not a “hue”.
A great replacement for toxic cadmium red!
