The Color of Life

Abstract

Colour in life is inescapable, though some, being more observant, see more of it, especially the colour of natural things and natural phenomena, than others.OsNour always has been and always will be associated with various arts and crafts in which the coloring agency such as dyestuff, as in the colouring of textiles, or the pigment, as in painting, is often man-made as well as man-assembled. Many of the great men of science since the time of Newton and his contemplation of the rainbow have been concerned with colour and have sought to explain just what colour is. Many are the known facts and theories about colour, for indeed the subject can be approached from many aspects. Thus the characterization of colour by mathematical symbols gives satisfaction to some, whereas others believe that the psychological effects of colour are the more worthy of study. Altogether there is to-day a greater and more widespread colour-consciousness, more appreciation of colour in Nature and in the broad activities of everyday life than ever before. It finds practical expression, for example, in the painting of factory walls and machines, in which colour now contributes to safety and eye comfort as well as to cleanliness and decoration in the ordinary sense. The Color of Life By Arthur G. Abbott. Pp. xxi + 294 + 7 plates. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1947.) 6 dollars.