White Dove

Early on Tuesday morning, as in very early, as in 6:45 in the morning kind of early, I was monitoring the work of a painting crew at the Kemper Art Museum. As a security guard, I was there to make sure the painters didn't wander into any spaces they shouldn't and see that they followed some standard safety rules. The morning passed with many yawns and without much indecent, aside from my asking one gentleman not to drink his soda in the atrium. So as I watched paint being applied, I had time to reflect on a subject foremost in my mind: the color white.

Throughout the 20th century, there has been a strong tradition of displaying modern or contemporary artworks on white walls. At the Kemper we use what is probably one of the most popular shades of white in the museum world, Benjamin Moore's White Dove. It also appears to be one of the most popular whites for home interiors, shown here as number one on a list of the top ten shades of white.

Just as it is fairly common for contemporary art to be displayed on white walls, it is also normal practice to display pre-20th century artworks on walls with colored paint. In some older institutions or house museums, the wall decor may even be more opulent with patterned wall papers or rich fabrics. The color of the wall often depends on the artworks themselves and what paint best compliments the colors in the paintings.

So as three men applied White Dove to the atrium walls with long rollers, I began to wonder why the turn-of-the-century switch from color to white took place. Who made that decision that 'white is right'? Where and when did this trend catch on? Well, to the best of my Googling, I believe that in the United States this trend took hold at the modern/contemporary art epicenter of the country, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In a blog written by Eleonore Hugendubel back in 2010, she discusses MoMA's recent shift from white walls to a slightly larger variety of color in some of the temporary and permanent exhibit galleries. She then presents a brief history and suggests that the trend of white walls was brought over from Europe in the 1930s by none other than Alfred H. Barr, Jr., MoMA's founding director. He began by dressing the gallery walls with beige monk's cloth, because it was “the most neutral thing he could get.” Since it was very common in Barr's day to canvas gallery walls with cloth, his selection of a plain cloth was probably an attempt to coalesce his innovations with tradition. Eventually, though, he completely removed the cloth and just painted the walls white, beige apparently not being neutral enough. All this because Barr believed that plain walls were the best backdrop for avant-garde art, "their unadorned surfaces drawing attention to the objects rather than the surrounding architecture..." 

With this explanation, it would appear that modern art is displayed on white walls because it was an innovation of one of America's earliest and leading modern art museums. This may also explain why the trend does not usually extend to pre-20th century art, since MoMA's primary concern at that time was collecting modern artworks and nurturing contemporary artists. Thus pre-20th century art continued to rest against rich, traditional hues in such old world art temples as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the new and avant-garde pushed forward and challenged the viewing audience's pre-conceived notions against a white and distraction-free background. 

The trend took such a strong hold that now a Mid-Western university museum building, that opened in 2006, stands firm by the 'white is right' rule. Even so, it appears that not all hold to that code. Despite the longevity of Barr's innovation, it appears that more and more people are questioning whether or not white is the best backdrop for all 20th century art, or 21st century art for that matter. There also appear to be debates over what is the best shade of white. With 100+ shades of white paint, many argue that the wrong white could bring about a catastrophe while the proper shade will help an art show soar. You can read more about both of these issues in a 2010 ARTnews article by Nicole Lanctot here.

On the pro-white side of the debate, there are those that argue white is still the best because it allows patrons, "to be able to see the painting, appropriately lit and without distractions." In a post on his art blog from 2011, Jonathan Jones is willing to concede that colored walls, if not too overpowering, can enliven an art viewer's experience. Even so, Jones still feels that white is the best backdrop for art, even pre-20th century art. 

I am personally on the fence of  the white vs. color debate. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there are 100+ shades of white... I mean, that's a lot of white. Who knew there could be so many shades for one of the plainest colors in the spectrum? I think whether a museum should go with white or colored walls is situational and every institution should choose what is best for itself. At the end of the day, though, white may prevail in use not because of the importance of the man who began the trend or due to any rule guided by aesthetics. 'White is right,' I believe, has as much to do with budget, time constraints, and simplicity in execution as it has to do with anything else.

Do you think white is the best color to backdrop 20th century art? Do you think it should also backdrop pre-20th century art, or should the tradition of color be maintained? What shade of white do you use in your museum?