The Painter's Palette; a Theory of Tone Relations, an Instrument of Expression

Interestingly, Denman Waldo Ross earned his doctorate in political economy from Harvard University, but soon after became interested in art soon after. It could be said he was a renaissance man in the sense that he transitioned so beautifully from one study to the other, setting upon lecturing on design and art in 1889 with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the newly acquired Oriental Art department for his teachings. He travelled in search of art for his own private collections, and became a member of the Bostonian elite circle of the arts and creatives. Some of his students he lectured at Harvard went on to become prominent artists. His book “The Painter’s Palette” is a sort of textbook to these elitists for understanding the analysis of temperatures, values, and colors as well as color temp to instruct on the nuances of painting within tone.