The Color Investigations of Robert Henri, Volume Two Paperback – January 15, 2026

With The Color Investigations of Robert Henri, Volumes 1 and 2, artist Judith Reeve exposes Robert Henri's rigorous experimentation with color theory, palette design, and artistic practice. After four years of independent research in the Robert Henri Papers, Reeve gathers and meticulously explains Henri's insights into color for the contemporary painter. Reeve has applied this research in her work for over thirty years and spent a decade crafting her findings into the present volumes, thereby making Henri's remarkable knowledge and strategies accessible to future generations of artists. Volume One presents detailed research from the Robert Henri Papers with hundreds of other sources to provide a rich historical context and practical understanding of Henri's multiple palettes, including the Full Spectrum Palette, the Ross Palette IV and the Rubens Palette, the Intensity Palette, the Aluminum Palette, and the Late Palettes. With each palette design, Reeve presents an analysis of Henri's color notes, furnishes detailed instructions on building the palette practically, and shares insights from personal experience implementing the palette in her practice. Volume Two contains over 150 color plates that visually demonstrate the contents explored throughout Volume One. Of special interest to professional artists, art students, teachers, and art historians, this comprehensive survey will rightly take its place alongside other indispensable art instruction books, including Robert Henri's The Art Spirit, John Sloan's On Drawing and Painting, Denman Ross' The Painter's Palette, Harold Speed's Oil Painting Techniques and Materials, Charles Bouleau's The Painter's Secret Geometry, and William Inness Homer's Seurat and the Science of Painting. Read more