Paint Analysis at Our Historic Sites

This summer, before the exterior painting began at the Cather Second Home Guest House, we turned to the expert paint analysis provided by David Arbogast of Davenport, Iowa. David has conducted paint analysis at some of our other historic sites in recent years, including: the Burlington Depot, Pavelka Farmstead, and the Willa Cather Childhood Home (and in the early 1990s at the Miner House before it was donated to the Willa Cather Foundation by Nancy and Bernie Picchi).

David calls himself the “invisible face” of the restoration process, but his work is invaluable. Just as examining wallpaper layers to provide context for period design elements, paint analysis examines the paint layers—interior or exterior—from a given sample through microscopic analysis. From a single paint sample, carefully taken from a piece of wood (see video below) and sent to him, this careful process uses paint layering to determine the chronology of colors used. 

The discovered and identifiable layers are then matched with the Munsell System of Color. This definitive—and surprisingly affordable—service is available to museums and homeowners alike, and David has worked for many historic sites around the United States.

Len Schamber of Schamber Historic Preservation removes a paint sample for analysis from a sill of the Willa Cather Childhood Home

David conducts his analysis with an optical Amscope microscope with magnification between 7 and 90 power. Each layer observed is color matched to the Munsell System of Color using natural north light. Only opaque, pigmented paint layers are matched. 

“It is impossible to determine colors for finishes such as metallic paints and leafs and shellacs and varnishes because their color varies according to their translucency and reflectance,” David noted.

The Munsell System of Color is a scientific system in which colors have been ranged into a color fan based upon three attributes: hue or color, the chroma or color saturation, and the value or neutral lightness or darkness. Unlike color systems developed by paint manufacturers, the Munsell system provides an unchanging standard of reference which is unaffected by the marketplace and changing tastes in colors.

Historic Color Revelations and Precedent

In the 1960s, breakthroughs in paint analysis helped dispel the Colonial Revival myth that had perpetuated since America’s Centennial in 1876 that early American home exteriors or interiors were generally painted white. Many vibrant and unusual interior color palettes during the Federal period had been inspired by the 18th century discovery of ancient Roman mosaics from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Deep earth-toned pigments—like ox blood red, sage greens, and mustard—were used for Early American homes, as well as their barns and outbuildings, and derived their rich hues from minerals and plants, and even actual ox blood!

Painted exteriors of many homes and structures during the Victorian era—when the Willa Cather Childhood Home and Cather Second Home were built—were greatly enlivened with the new availability of machine-made millwork. These mass-produced details included barge boards, scalloped shingle siding, finials, balusters, and other trims and embellishments that are often referred to as decorative “gingerbread.” Paint palettes were sometimes as vibrant as those used during earlier eras, but various polychromatic colors were employed in many different combinations to enhance and showcase the varied exterior design elements.

Paint Palette Results at Our Historic Sites

Following the tradition of Colonial Revival “white-washing,” the Childhood Home was painted white sometime after the Charles Cather family moved away. Even though the house has not been white in many years, recent exterior paint analysis confirmed the above color palette ahead of repainting this year. [Of note is that David analyzed samples from this site multiple times in the 1980s and again in 2023.]

The Burlington Depot revealed a more utilitarian palette inside, with deep greens and grays, and traditional Burlington Route station colors on the exterior.

At the Pavelka Farmstead, paint analysis in several of the first floor rooms revealed an unusual combination of a pale blue on the walls with a rich pumpkin tone for the trim. These colors were matched to the above palette and date from the early twentieth century when the Pavelkas resided there.

This year, paint samples were also taken from a variety of locations on the exterior of the Cather Second Home that provided the Munsell palette, above. 

Once a paint sample is color-matched by the conservator to a Munsell chart, it can be color-matched to the desired paint brand and color, as above. 

Tracy Tucker, director of collections and curation, was “surprised” to find a more muted color palette at the Cather Second Home: “We have just a handful of historic photos of the Cather Second Home, and they all show a home that is predominantly white,” Tucker said. “I think I expected something more subdued than what we found, but I love how fresh and welcoming the house looks—and I imagine the Cather family first saw it in much the same way.” 

NOTE: All Sherwin Williams paint colors referenced in the article were matched from the determined Munsell colors by Tracy Tucker.