| By :
Martin Hofschroer
One of the world's most prestigious art supplies organisations had a very unconventional beginning. The Rowney Company, which is now known as Daler Rowney, is famous for supplying the very best art supplies but that was not always the case as the company has an interesting history. Founded in 1783 in central London by Richard and Thomas Rowney, the original incarnation of the Rowney Company provided products for wigs, which were especially popular among upper class males. King George III and his son, the future George IV, decision to stop wearing wigs had a knock-on effect on the rest of the aristocracy meaning that the trend went out of fashion and Rowney were forced to diversify in order to survive. Using their experience of colourings, the Rowney's began to build up their knowledge of colours in a bid to manufacturer art supplies to artists who still had to make their own paints from raw materials. The company started developing their own paints which allowed aspiring artists more time to dedicate to their actual painting as they were free from the labour intensive routine of colour mixing. As this development made painting more popular among society, the company started to expand its range of products to include oils and watercolours as well as traditional paints. Romantic landscape painters William Turner and John Constable are just two of the internationally renowned artists who are known to have used Rowney paints in their work. By the early 1960s, the company enjoyed great success with the introduction of new acrylic paints under the Cryla name thanks to the product's ability to dry quicker and its greater water solubility. Pop artists Peter Blake, who created the iconic cover of Beatle's album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Bridget Riley were also know to use Rowney paints during their most prolific period. The Daler Board Company bought the George Rowney Company in 1983 and decided to keep the Rowney name because of the quality and trust associated with the brand image. Artist Terry Daler founded the Daler Company after returning to Britain after World War II and created a business which manufactured blank canvas as the necessary art supplies were in short supply. The Daler Company soon expanded into the manufacture of synthetic paint brushes, which replaced the more expensive sable version, as well as artists' pads. Meanwhile, the British Medical Association claims that hospital patients should be provided with art supplies in order to aid their recovery.
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