Winsor & Newton is built on art and science. Our art materials are developed and manufactured by a team of modern ‘colourmen’ with a background in chemistry, who create colours and materials which provide quality – and inspiration. 

Great artists lead to great materials

When Winsor & Newton first set out to provide artists with the best possible materials, artists including  JMW Turner gave them insight and a wealth of professional experience. Since then, we have collaborated with artists and institutions around the world to promote fine art and encourage emerging talent. 

Our laboratory has two artists’ studios next to it so that artists in residence can exchange ideas and experiences with our chemists, collaborating to develop perfect paintings and perfect materials. 

Artists are on our staff throughout the business, playing their part in technical, engineering and marketing departments. 

Over the years, this approach coupled with more than a century and a half of knowledge and experience, has led to a number of developments in colours and materials. Products such as Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colour , the oil colour medium Liquin and iconic drawing inks  have had a major impact on the way artists work.

One specific breakthrough was the introduction of our Professional Acrylic range (previously Artists’ Acrylic), which saw the creation of a unique translucent binder. Artists can now easily match colours from palette to canvas, allowing them to see a painting as it will look when it is finished.

Creative spaces for creative people

We’re excited to discover and nurture creativity, and we’re committed to creating space for artistic innovation, imagination and collaboration. We are a key partner in The Fine Art Collective, a programme that supports emerging talent in universities around the world. Winsor & Newton workshops provide hands-on experience of our materials and the opportunity to try out new techniques. 

Our spaces, including The Griffin Gallery in London  and Collective Art Tank in Asbury Park, New Jersey, help emerging artists take their first steps in selling their work outside of university, to help them network and to support local art communities.

Our in-house art studios and the resident artists who work alongside our chemists make sure we have an easy dialogue, bringing art and science together 

Our support of The Griffin Art Prize is part of our commitment to sustaining and nurturing new talent in painting and drawing. It’s a showcase for emerging artists such as Alzbeta Jaresova (winner 2012) and Luke George and Elizabeth Rose (winners 2013). We award a six-month studio residency and solo show to the winners, which gives them the time and space to develop their art and launch their public profile (link /news/gap-2013-winners )

The art of science 

The marriage of art and science is a two-way relationship. In 2013, Winsor & Newton collaborated with the Australian Government and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology on the ‘Insight Radical’ project, which uses art to start a dialogue about the impacts of free radicals on our lives. Our artist in residence, Natalie O’Connor, and six others proved that art is an excellent medium for communicating complex scientific ideas and subjects (link /news/insight-radical-where-art-meets-science )