Burnt Umber 

Curator: Here we have "Burnt Umber," manufactured by Winsor & Newton and residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It looks like sediment in an old bottle. I wonder if it's still usable? Curator: Quite possibly! Winsor & Newton became known for standardizing artist materials. The commodification of pigment transformed art production. Editor: Right, pigment shifts from being ground on-site to an industrial process in neatly labeled jars. What do we lose and gain in that exchange? Curator: Control, perhaps, but also consistency and wider access. This humble jar speaks to the evolving social structures around art-making itself. Editor: I’m left pondering the labor, from mining the raw materials to the factory work of processing it. It’s about more than just color. Curator: Indeed. It is a small vessel holding a wealth of art history. Editor: A tangible link to a whole chain of human and geological processes.