Color Scheme: An Irreverent History of Art and Pop Culture in Color Palettes

"[In] Edith Young's Color Scheme, the color palette becomes a vehicle to examine art history, popular culture, and the artist's own professional and artistic development....The primary allure...is Young's artwork and methodology, but the writing, at times both humorous and sophisticated, will get you to stay."
- The Brooklyn Rail,


"A visually pleasing palette of colors and artworks."
- Library Journal,


"Color Scheme--like Edith Young herself--is absolutely delightful. I have always found art history a bit intimidating: What if I have the wrong opinion? What if I'm interpreting this incorrectly? What if I don't 'get' it? Color Scheme waves all that nonsense away and welcomes you into the dinner party. (Speaking of which, I have the sneaking suspicion that having read this book will make me a far more interesting person to sit next to at dinner parties.)"
- Amelia Diamond, coauthor of Body Talk,


"Edith Young's glorious color palettes turn an art historian's eye toward the colorful world around us--hairdos and costumes, paintings and backdrops. I love seeing what Edith sees, and this gorgeous book is a delight for all of us who like our lessons to be as whimsical and fun as they are studious and brilliant." - Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here and owner of Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, New York,


"My first job out of college was as a lowly assistant to the formidable fashion editor Diana Vreeland at Harper's Bazaar. I heard the daily pronouncements about color that Edith mentions in her fascinatingly researched book. How thrilling it is to look at and study color, wherever we find it, and to realize that this formerly abstract and overlooked aspect of our lives is actually a source of power and joy, all around us, everywhere. This book is a brilliant surprise, and I recommend it highly."
- Ali MacGraw, actress, Love Story,


"This is art history looked at through an idiosyncratic, inquisitive, and highly personal lens. I've laughed my way through this book, and one thing is for sure: I'll never look at any painting (or ice skating costume, for that matter), in the same way again."
- Luke Edward Hall, artist, designer, and columnist,

Edith Young is a writer, photographer and designer based in New York, NY. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Photography. She previously worked as the senior photo editor and photographer at Man Repeller, and now works on projects with a broad spectrum of clients, like Google, Rachel Antonoff, Outdoor Voices, and The Wing. Her art practice revolves around an ongoing project making art historical palettes, which have gained recognition in publications like Domino, It's Nice That, and The Art Gorgeous.