Podcast · Arts & Books

Stories in Colour

by The National Gallery · English · Arts & Books

These are the stories of how colour has changed the world. 'Stories in Colour’ is a vibrant new podcast from the National Gallery in London. In each episode, we uncover the hidden mysteries woven into colour from antiquity to the present day. Along the way, you'll hear from curators, scienti

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 51 min
Latest: 8 Jul 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

8 Jul 2026 · 58 min

Pink is for girls, blue is for boys

Have you ever wondered whether pink really is for girls and blue for boys? In our final episode of series two, Beks is joined by Dr Vien Cheung, Associate Professor at the University of Leeds, and National Gallery Educator Ed Dickenson to explore the surprising, gendered history of pink and blue. We trace the rise of fashion's 'shocking pink', the cultural impact of the Barbie movie, and the enduring image of one of art history's most frequently depicted women dressed in blue. Listen to uncover how colour influences fashion, film, psychology, and even athletic performance – challenging…

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Earlier episodes 21 most recent

S2 · E7 · 1 Jul 2026 · 36 min
The hunt for the blackest black
Today we're on a hunt with artists through time, searching for the blackest black. We’re after the deepest blacks, the most accurate blacks and the most atmospheric blacks. Beks is joined by artist Stuart Semple to help answer questions such as: is black really a colour and how do we see the colour black? Step back in time to the Palaeolithic era to discover ancient cave paintings at the Lascaux caves. Then jump forward in time to hear about the scientific breakthrough Vantablack and the debates it has caused. ------- Stuart Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist whose work spans…
S2 · E6 · 24 Jun 2026 · 50 min
Rediscovering history’s women colour theorists
You might have heard of men like Isaac Newton or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, but who were the pioneering women writing on colour theory? To answer that question, we’re joined by cultural historian Alexandra Loske and The Colour Club founder Zeynep Sagir. Together, they uncover the lives of figures like Martha Gartside, Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Carry van Biema. From intricate colour grids to radical visual experiments, we study the work, stories and lasting legacies of these women – revealing how their influence is being recognised today. ------- Alexandra is a colour expert, art historian…
S2 · E5 · 17 Jun 2026 · 46 min
Decoding paintings through colour
How do the colours artists choose – and the ways each of us experience them – help us find a story? Join Beks and author Chloë Ashby as they take a closer look at how to ‘read’ colour in some of the National Gallery’s most iconic paintings. From Van Gogh to Caravaggio, they examine how different artists use colour to guide narrative, shape meaning and even evoke emotion. Whether you’re an art lover or new to art history, uncover hints and tips for how to decode your favourite paintings through colour. ------- Chloë is an author and award-winning arts critic. She is the author of Wet Paint…
S2 · E4 · 10 Jun 2026 · 51 min
The mauve measles: when purple went viral
A teenage chemist’s accidental discovery didn’t just revolutionise colour history – it sparked a viral Victorian colour craze! Cultural historian Kassia St Clair joins Beks to uncover the story of mauveine – the world’s first synthetic aniline dye. Practically overnight, this striking purple became a mass-market sensation. Mauve reshaped Victorian fashion and left a legacy that stretches all the way from a laboratory in Victorian London’s East End to portraits of icons like Oprah Winfrey. ------- Kassia is the author of books including 'The Secret Lives of Colour', 'The Golden Thread' and…
S2 · E3 · 3 Jun 2026 · 42 min
Deadly chemical cousins: oranges and yellows
What makes two volcano-born pigments so dangerous? Hint: they weren’t scorching hot when artists used them. Orpiment and realgar both contain arsenic, a foe we’ve previously faced on ‘Stories in Colour’. From volcanoes to ancient alchemical practices, art historian Evie Hatch joins Beks to uncover the origins and histories of these orange and yellow pigments. Together, they discuss how orpiment and realgar have been used, where their names come from and the risks artists faced painting with them. ------- Evie Hatch is an art historian specialising in the history and characteristics of artist…
S2 · E2 · 27 May 2026 · 52 min
A blue more expensive than gold − ultramarine
Travel with us beyond the sea to look at ultramarine , a pigment that was once even more precious than gold. In this episode, writer Victoria Finlay joins Beks for a discussion on how researching ultramarine took her to Afghanistan. She journeyed to the blue mines where you can find lapis lazuli, the semi-precious stone ultramarine comes from. Along the journey, we pause to look at some of the National Gallery’s paintings – including one noteworthy for its lack of ultramarine... ------- Victoria has written several books about colour - including 'Colour, Travels through the Paintbox' and…
S2 · E1 · 20 May 2026 · 53 min
What is synaesthesia? Can you hear colour?
Welcome back to a new series of 'Stories in Colour'. To kick off, we’re tackling one of the topics we received the most questions about − synaesthesia. Join Beks and this week’s guests, composer Dr Deborah Pritchard and leading expert on synaesthesia Professor Jamie Ward, as they set out to answer questions such as: What is synaesthesia and what might yellow sound like? We are also joined in the studio by violinist Greta Mutlu and cellist Richard Harwood. They help bring Deborah’s own personal experience of synaesthesia to life through music. ------- Jamie is a Professor of Cognitive…
S2 · 20 May 2026 · 1 min
Stories in Colour Returns – Series 2 Trailer
What does colour sound like? Why was mauve the brat green of the Victorian era? And is pink really just for girls? Welcome back to another series of 'Stories in Colour', the National Gallery's vibrant podcast. Join us on a journey that travels from mines in Afghanistan, to the East End of Victorian London. Hear from curators, scientists, historians and artists, for fresh perspectives and unexpected discoveries. The first episode of series two is out now on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
3 Dec 2025 · 59 min
The story of gold: modern imaginations (part three)
When the artist Louise Nevelson immigrated to America as a child, she was told that ‘the streets... would be paved in gold’. Obviously, they weren’t, but that hasn’t stopped modern artists turning pretty much everything else golden. Even a toilet. Join National Gallery Courses and Events Programmer Caroline Miller, Associate Curator of Contemporary and Modern Priyesh Mistry and host Beks in the final episode of our sparkling miniseries, where we look to uses of gold in modern and contemporary art. From glistening gold in Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ to an artwork so valuable it has hardly ever…
26 Nov 2025 · 53 min
The story of gold: devotion and design (part two)
When did gold become a colour? In this episode we journey from the majestic mosaics of the Byzantine era to the brilliantly burnished panel paintings of the early Renaissance to answer this very question. Join Laura Llewellyn, National Gallery Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500, art historian and educator Ben Street and National Gallery host Beks on this sparkling adventure. Together, they delve into the Gallery’s paintings to explore how artists were creating with gold and capturing this glittering metal in paint. Laura Llewellyn is Curator of Italian Paintings Before 1500 here at the…
19 Nov 2025 · 51 min
The story of gold: ancient origins (part one)
Welcome back to Stories in Colour ! And welcome to the first episode of our new miniseries in which we'll be telling the story of a rare, sparkling and glistening colour – or should we say material? Join Nelly von Aderkas from the National Gallery’s Scientific department and host Beks as they dive into the ancient origins of gold! From colliding supernovas to the tomb of Tutankhamun and the man with the Midas touch, we will be exploring the materiality of gold, where this precious metal comes from and its symbolism in art and literature. Nelly is a Specialist Scientist and Organic Analyst at…
18 Nov 2025 · 1 min
The Story of Gold - Miniseries Trailer
Welcome to a new miniseries of ‘Stories in Colour’. The National Gallery’s vibrant podcast returns to tell the story of a rare, sparkling and glistening colour – or should we say material? It's been called the tears of the gods, the sweat of the sun, a barbaric relic and a universal language. Join us as we trace the use of gold across the ages! From the tombs of Ancient Egypt to Renaissance altarpieces, all the way to a currently missing golden toilet. The first episode in our three-part miniseries releases on Wednesday 19 November 2025. Episodes will release weekly, finishing on 3 December…
S1 · E8 · 8 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
Painting the rainbow
What exactly is a rainbow and how is it formed? Why does it have seven colours? And what have rainbows symbolised in mythologies and art? Join colour expert Dr Alexandra Loske, National Gallery Principal Scientist Joseph Padfield and National Gallery host Beks Leary as they cover rainbows from Noah’s Ark to Olafur Eliasson, and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to Georges Seurat’s ‘The Rainbow’ study. Alexandra is a colour expert, art historian and museum curator. Her exhibition 'Colour: A Chromatic Promenade through the Royal Pavilion' is on display at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton until…
S1 · E7 · 1 Jul 2025 · 53 min
How snails made purple a royal colour
Why do we see purple as the colour of royalty? It all starts on the Mediterranean coast with some unassuming, and eventually very unfortunate, seasnails. Travel back to ancient times with colour specialist Victoria Finlay and National Gallery host Beks Leary to trace the story of Tyrian purple through time. Victoria has written several books about colour – including 'Colour, Travels through the Paintbox' and 'The Brilliant History of Color in Art' – which involved travelling across the globe to the very places that ancient pigments and dyes came from. Her most recent book is about the hidden…
S1 · E6 · 24 Jun 2025 · 45 min
The fear of colour: chromophobia
Where did all the colour go? And how might Western culture have feared it, or deemed it superficial, in art and philosophy? We celebrate the 25th anniversary of seminal book ‘Chromophobia’ with its author David Batchelor, who reflects on these ideas a quarter of a century on. David speaks to National Gallery host Beks Leary about ideas of colour from philosopher Plato and artist Paul Cezanne, to the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’, photojournalist Don McCullin and pop artist Andy Warhol. They also ask the pressing question: ‘is beige a passive aggressive colour?’ David Batchelor is an artist and…
S1 · E5 · 17 Jun 2025 · 1 hr
Don’t eat your deadly greens
Why does the colour green remind you of poison and radioactivity? We're telling the story of two toxic green pigments to find out. Their stories interact with artists like Berthe Morisot, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris, as well as the less likely figure of Napoleon Bonaparte. And we go for a very good nosy around Victorian libraries. Join cultural historian Kassia St Clair and National Gallery host Beks Leary to ask just how deadly these historic pigments really are! Kassia is the author of books including 'The Secret Lives of Colour', 'The Golden Thread' and 'Liberty: Design.…
S1 · E4 · 10 Jun 2025 · 45 min
Why we feel what we feel about colour
We're asking how we feel about colour – or more accurately how colours make us feel – and whether that's the same for all of us. Join colour specialist Zeynep Sagir and National Gallery host Beks Leary to get emotional about colour. Along the way, we talk about Pablo Picasso’s ‘Blue Period’ and Derek Jarman’s final film ‘Blue’, the calming green of John Constable’s ‘The Cornfield’, and Mark Rothko’s colour field abstractions. And we’ll see just how cultural our perception of colour really is. Zeynep is an artist, colour consultant, and founder of The Colour Club. She holds a Master’s degree…
S1 · E3 · 3 Jun 2025 · 59 min
How bugs turned the world red
We're on the search for the 'perfect red' with a pigment and dye that was so prized that it inspired international espionage and piracy, carried the death penalty if exported without a license, and built empires. But today you might find it in your strawberry yoghurt. This is the story of how bugs turned the world red with historian and writer Amy Butler Greenfield and National Gallery host Beks Leary. Amy is the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of dyers, and her award-winning history of cochineal, 'A Perfect Red', has been published in eight languages. A popular speaker on radio and…
S1 · E2 · 28 May 2025 · 44 min
The first modern synthetic pigment
Meet an enigmatic pigment discovered entirely by accident at the start of the 18th century. Its story involves a rogue inventor with an unlikely connection to Doctor Frankenstein, a characterful trio of Johanns, and a renowned Botticelli forgery. This pigment came to be known as Prussian blue or Berlin blue. Before its discovery, a range of blue pigments existed but each had a significant flaw: natural ultramarine was prohibitively expensive, smalt discoloured, azurite turned green and indigo faded. Join colour specialist Evie Hatch and National Gallery host Beks Leary for a conversation…
S1 · E1 · 28 May 2025 · 54 min
Do you see the same colour I see?
Welcome to Stories in Colour! We're starting at the very beginning to ask an age-old question: are the colours you see, the same as the colours I see? Join Professor Anya Hurlbert from Newcastle University and National Gallery host Beks Leary as they ask whether colour is real and how exactly we see it, stopping off to look at paintings from the National Gallery along the way. We go back to the viral dress that divided the internet in 2015 – was it blue and black, or was it white and gold? This was the moment so many of us discovered that colour is our own – in Anya’s words – personal…
S1 · 22 May 2025 · 1 min
Introducing: Stories in Colour - Series 1 Trailer
How has colour changed the world? A vibrant new podcast from the National Gallery, Stories in Colour launches with our first two episodes on Wednesday 28 May 2025. The Times ★★★★ ‘There’s lots to enjoy here.’ In each episode, we uncover the hidden mysteries woven into colour from antiquity to the present day. Along the way, you'll hear from curators, scientists, historians, artists, and more experts, looking at humanity’s efforts to make colour and make meaning with it. And amongst these stories, you will see - and hear - the National Gallery’s paintings in a whole new spectrum of light.

About Stories in Colour

Stories in Colour is a English arts & books podcast from The National Gallery. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: The National Gallery
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 51 min
Latest episode: 8 Jul 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1816348112

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