C
admium pigments are very permanent, brilliant
shades of yellows and reds that have become
mainstays in artists’ palettes, ever since their
introduction in the 19th century when advances
in chemistry and industrial technology opened a
whole range of bright pigments artists didn’t have
before. The chemical element cadmium (Cd) is
also a heavy metal, which, along with lead (Pb),
mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As), has a history of use
in artists’ pigments. All are potentially toxic if they
get inside the body. Among these, Monet lists some
new ones: cadmium yellow (Cd), cobalt (Co) blue, 3
the notoriously poisonous emerald green (which
has disappeared from use), and some very old ones:
flake white (Pb) and vermilion (Hg).
Heavy metal poisoning can be cumulative; small
amounts stay in the body and add up over time.
For artists, the means of entering the body are
ingesting or inhaling the dry pigments. The risks
can be avoided by following a few common sense
precautions. Potentially hazardous colors are now so
labeled on the paint tubes.
While ECHA was going through its paces, an
industry heavyweight was already working hard to
develop a non-heavy metal alternative. After three
years of research, Liquitex® announced with some
fanfare its Cadmium-Free line in 2017, a savvy
marketing move to reach those who want everything
to be “non-toxic,” while still providing the real
cadmium paints for professionals.
A little background — in 1933 Henry Levison
founded Permanent Pigments of Cincinnati, Ohio, in
order to supply artists’ paints of reliable permanency
with detailed labels of their components on the
back of the tubes. In 1955 he produced the first
line of artists’ acrylic paints: “Liquitex®” which
would become the company name. It has now been
absorbed by the Swedish family-owned corporation
Colart, as have the venerable Winsor & Newton and
Lefranc et Bourgeois which, under the Colart aegis,
also now have the Cd-free paints, “offering artists a
safe and sustainable choice.”
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE