About
At Golden Artists Colors, artists forge our creative process. Many of our products, even entire product lines, were first created in response to the needs of an individualor small group of artists. This is not merely our legacy, but a tradition we continue to uphold. We place great value on the close, personal relationships we have developed with artists over the years, and we continue to involve artists in many aspects of our production.
The History
Sam Golden joined his uncle Leonard Bocour as a partner in Bocour Artist Colorsand together produced hand-ground oil colors for artists.
During one visit an artist gave Sam a honey like resin and asked if it could be made into paint. Sam recognized that this idea would require experimentation as the early batches of the new paint seemed to dry before the paint was applied. Between 1946 and 1949, and after much trial and error, the first artist acrylic paint was ready for production.Â
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. began in June of 1980 in a 900 square foot, renovated barn. Sam, his wife Adele, son Mark and daughter-in-law Barbara Golden along with partner Chuck Kelly, founded a new company that would embody Sam's dedication to professional artists, work Sam described as simply "making tools for artists."
In 1985, the addition of a factory to the original cow barn gave the company 6,200 square feet of space. As the building grew, so did product lines. The original Heavy Body and Iridescent Acrylics grew to include Fluid, Matte and Interference Acrylics.
As the GOLDEN brand gained respect in the artist community, more and more retail stores began to sell GOLDEN product. To meet the growing demand another addition to the corporate headquarters was completed in 1990. The 13,000 square foot expansion added office, production and inventory space as well as a gallery. In July 1990, Golden Artist Colors celebrated its tenth anniversary.
GOLDEN added 31,000 square feet to the facility in 1997 and took down the "old barn". But the surge in growth, sales and employees that year was eclipsed by sadness when Sam Golden died at age 82, on March 11, 1997. Sam left behind a legacy of participation in the creative process of artists and their materials.
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. became an employee owned company in 2002 and in 2010, employees became the majority owners of the company. And despite worldwide distribution, GOLDEN product is still created on the grounds of the original barn in New Berlin using the highest standards for consistency and quality.
In 2008 Golden Artist Colors launched OPEN Acrylics, a new line of colors and mediums with exceptionally slow drying characteristics to allow artists to blend and rework acrylic paint in ways only possible previously with oils. OPEN represents the kind of product innovation and commitment to artists that Sam imparted on the company.
Golden Artist Colors assumes responsibility for realizing Carl Plansky's dream for unique oil paints and mediums that reflect the traditions of painting in Europe and North America.. Today Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors offers the largest palette of oil colors available.
Today, GOLDEN operates on 3Â principles: 1) Make the best products, 2) Provide customers with the best service, and 3) Find people who can make the first two happen.Â
Golden Artist Colors introduces QoR, a new line of watercolors that offers artists color strength, range and versatility unmatched in the history of watercolors. QoR's exclusive binder gives color greater intensity and clarity, while retaining the best qualities of traditional watercolors.
Golden Headquarters
The Ranges
