Colour Conversations: Patrick Baty – The Paint Detective
Saturday 31 May 2025
THE OLD COURTROOM
11 am – 12noon
£15 (Members £10)
Paint is far from boring and provides clues to a building’s history. Patrick Baty, the leading historian of architectural colour in the UK, will explain why several people have referred to him as ‘The Paint Detective’. The wide range and type of projects that he is faced with – from Tudor gardens to 1960s housing estates – will be outlined together with a brief explanation of the process of analysis.
An account will be given of a house, with discreet Royal connections, where he could prove that a pair of doors had come from a long-demolished building, hundreds of miles away – from the paint alone. He will also provide an update on a 15-year project at Stowe and will describe the finding of a hidden mural in the Chelsea house owned by the painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
About the speaker: Patrick Baty is the leading historian of architectural colour in the UK and the author of The Anatomy of Colour and Nature’s Palette (both Thames & Hudson). He and his wife run the family business Papers and Paints, in Chelsea.
Patrick has an artistic background with Brighton connections. Two great grandparents were the artists Robert Bevan and Stanisława de Karłowska. Since leaving the Army he has pursued a career in the decoration of historic buildings. His work covers research, paint analysis, colour & technical advice. Projects have ranged from King Henry VIII’s heraldic Beasts and London social housing estates to major structures such as Tower Bridge. He has worked with Alexandra Loske on replacing the 18th-century dragon on the Great Pagoda at Kew. He has also worked in the USA.
