White Pigments in Art from Lead White to Titanium

Summary: This essay encapsulates the wide range of white pigments available to artists starting with lead-based substances and continuing to modern form of white pigments that replaced lead.  Keywords: Titanium White, Lead White, Flake White, Cremnitz White.

Since winter has taken its icy grip on over half of the United States, the pigment that is used to represent snow and cold the best is the topic of this Syntax article.

Collage of white paints used in advertising taken from American Artist Magazine

White paint for commercial or art purposes has been the foundation of civilization’s need to create a color that is absent of the hues represented in an artist’s color wheel. While white is not depicted in the wheel, its existence provides the means of adjusting the hue of all of the other colors.  White pigment also has served to be the basis of a variety of needs outside of the art world. 

Let’s start with exploring how Lead White was studied, tested and refined in the late 19^th century when several important books were written dissecting all of the characteristics and chemical aspects of colors.

Lead White in its purest form is primarily lead carbonate and lead hydrate in a 70% carbonate and 30% hydrate combination. (A.H. Church, 1915)

Lead, in nature, is never absolutely pure. Foreign metals, as described by Church are responsible for adulterating and discoloring Lead White.  These metals can be copper, bismuth, silver, cadmium, antimony, nickel and more particularly, iron. (A. H. Church, 1915) The presence of iron might be the reason that Lead White takes on a warm tone. Further, minum or read lead has been documented to impart a warm rosy hue. (Church, 1915)

If making a more viably economic product can be considered adulteration, the adulterants include: Barium Sulfate, Gypsum, China Clay, Chalk and Lead Sulfate. Understanding that the production of Lead White was not primarily for artists, a slew of additives that were also white changed the working properties of Lead White.

The names of these Lead White mixtures are based on the additive involved. Venice White was Lead White and Barium Sulfate. Hamburg White and Dutch White were composed of various percentages of lead and barium sulfate.

Revealing that Lead White has a number of additives in various ratios, is directly related to commercial paint production as opposed to artists’ paint manufacturing.  This become the starting point in establishing the “galaxy” of white paint names that have intrigued and confused us for generations.  Below is a fairly comprehensive list of paint names and some information about their origins.

Antimony White: Synthetic antimony trioxide, produced by roasting antimony ore then mixing it with barium sulfate. The combination was introduced as an artists' pigment called antimony white in 1920. Antimony white was sold under the name Timonox.  (Cameo, MFA.org)

Baryta White: Barium hydroxide. It is a component in the white pigment lithopone.

Blanc d’ Argent: A name for lead white that translates from the French into Silver White.  It was Winsor & Newton that offered lead white paint called Silver White.  See Silver White.

Blanc de Plomb: A term for white lead pigment.

Ceruse: Lead carbonate pigment is the basis for the name of this paint.  It has references to use as a facial powder, a mixture made with chalk and lead white, and a decorate process called “liming” for giving furniture a hazy white cast.

Chinese White: Zinc White first marketed by Winsor & Newton a a watercolor pan color in 1834.

Cremnitz White: Basic Lead Carbonate.  The geographical misunderstanding about the name Cremnitz is believed to stem from a confusion between the town of Kremnica (Slovakian mining town) or Kormeriz (Bohemian town, historically called Cremnitz) and the Austrian town of Krems an der Donau, which was famous for producing high-quality lead white.  Authentic Cremnitz White was manufactured in Klangenfurt, Austria. The location of the regions falsely attributed to the manufacturer of Cremnitz White are not particularly close to each other unless you wish to claim that the continent of Europe is the determining factor. Krems an der Donau and Klangenfurt are 376 K from each other, approximately 4 hours away, if driving.  The region of Krems an der Donau and Kmrmeriz are 200 K from each other or 2.5 hours away if driving.   If history could be accurately rewrite regarding Lead White, it should have been called Klangenfurt White.

Dutch White: A mixture of 75% barium sulfate and 25% Lead White.

Dwight White: An aqueous based white for water colorists.  Said to contain no lead. Manufactured by the Hamilton Dwight Company, New York. (American Artist, January 1948)

Flake White 1: Winsor & Newton’s normal, paste-like consistency Lead White paint.

Flake White 2: Winsor & Newton fluid version of Lead White .

Flake White: See White Lead.  The term mirrors the appearance of the manufacturing process where lead coils or buckles are transformed into lead carbonate.  The lead sluffs off the sheets or buckles in flakes similar to the way corn flakes appear.  The flakes are washed and ground under water to reduce the particle size so they can be used to create a usable pigment.

Flake White Hue: A Winsor & Newton product composed of Titanium Dioxide formulated with additives to mimic the characteristics of Lead White.

Flake White Replacement: A product first marketed by Gamblin Artist Colors to address the desire of artists to use a white pigment that mimics the long ropy quality of lead white but without use of lead carbonate. It has been an attempt to create a less toxic palette for artists’ use.

Flake White – Slow Drying: Winsor & Newton modified with a drying retarder to address the rapid drying of genuine Lead White paint.

Flemish White: Lead sulfate ground in linseed oil.

Foundation White: A fat Lead White used as an underlayer white made by Winsor & Newton.

Freeman’s White: A composite white pigment patented by Joseph Freeman in 1882 in England. Freeman's white lead was originally described as a mixture of lead sulfate and zinc white ground under high pressure. In a later patent for an improved white pigment, Freeman added barium sulfate to the mixture. (Cameo Website)

Hamburg White:  A mixture of 33% lead white and 67% barium sulfate.

Iridescent White: A pearlescent white paint manufactured by Winsor & Newton. Marketed as a special effect paint.

Lead White: It is one of the most ancient pigments to be documented.  Lead processing evolved over time.  The stack method used clay pots that allowed vinegar to be contained below a coil of lead. The pots were placed in a shed and surrounded by manure. The combination of vinegar along with the heat and off gassing generated by the manure provided the transformation of elemental lead into lead carbonate. By the late 19^th century the stack method was replaced by modern methods for producing lead white for commercial applications.  The pigment is hard to obtain as countries impose bans on manufacturing and sales.  A few art manufacturers still provide Lead White to artists.

Lithopone: Discovered by DuPont in the 1870s, the paint is composed of barium sulfate and zinc sulfide. While production and sales peaked in the 1920s, it continued to be sold for paints, putty and in plastics in the later part of the 20^th century.

Orr’s Zinc White: A dense, white, opaque pigment composed of a mixture of zinc sulfide (30%) and barium sulfate (70%) with trace amounts of zinc oxide. Lithopone, first produced in 1874, was called Orr's white. The mixture of the two components is so intimate that it is hard to distinguish microscopically. Lithopone is an inert, transparent pigment which is often used as a filler or as a base for lake pigments. Lithopone was widely used in house paints in the first half of the 20th century. It was also used for some artist grounds, inks and as a filler in paper, leather, and linoleum. (Cameo Website)

Pattinson’s White: Hugh Lee Pattinson developed a process for separating silver from lead to made mines economically practical, that prior to his discovery, were not financially viable. While he never made commercial paint or art materials from this discovery, his name is mentioned frequently in 19^th century book on the subject of Lead White paint manufacturing.

Permalba White: Manufactured by F. W. Weber, Permalba White has retained a favored place in many artist’s palettes.  It is composed of no lead products, Titanium White and other pigments, it has a soft buttery quality that gives it a distinctive feel when compared to other white paints.

Radiant White: A combination of Titanium White and safflower oil, it provides artists with the maximum amount of “whiteness,” due to the choice of oils.  The paint is described as “refrigerator white” in appearance.

Silver White: Winsor & Newton thin, fluid lead white for sketching and rapid application.

Soft White: Manufactured by Grumbacher.  Marketed as a “buttery” soft white with excellent covering power. (American Artist, March 1986)

Supurba White: Grumbacher manufactures a Titanium and Zinc white with a proprietary formulation of oils.

Titanium White: The established trade name for titanium dioxide, PW 6, It became the established replacement for Lead White over time. Titanium dioxide was developed in a laboratory and saw its way to use by artists in the 1890s. The engine behind adoption of titanium dioxide was its commercial potential, not its usefulness for artists.  While lead-based paints were manufactured and sold until the phase out in the late 1970s.  Titanium dioxide has been mixed with other white pigment powders and associated chemicals to create paints with both general and specific applications.  In artists’ paints, the addition of a small amount of zinc oxide, has been done to improve a number of issues including, opacity, the structure of the paint, and the degree of warmth due to the type of oil used to make the paint.

Titanium-Zinc White: See Titanium White.  The main reason for retaining this pigment combination currently rests in the expertise of paint manufacturers who believe that small amounts of Zinc White help to remove deficiencies in pure Titanium White oil colors.

Underpainting White: Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide to create an opaque fast drying paint. Manufactured by Winsor & Newton.

Venice White: Lead white and barium sulfate mixed in equal proportions.

Warm White: Winsor & Newton makes this for mixing with other colors to reinforce the warmth of the tint.  No pigment composition is published.

Winton White: No information available from Winsor & Newton. Likely a less pigmented, budget paint that mirrors the Winton line of economical paints.

Zinc White: Discovered and developed in the late 18^th century, the white pigment was initially met with skepticism. It never surpassed the popularity of Lead White as the white pigment of choice during the 19^th and early 20th centuries. In 1830, Winsor and Newton introduced zinc oxide and labeled it Chinese White for use in watercolors. Zinc White gained popularity as formulations increased the pigment’s opacity since zinc, by its nature has the propensity to require a larger amount of oil than is needed by Lead White to make a usable paint.   While known for its brittleness, the late 20^th century findings initiated by paint film formation and performance research conducted by the Smithsonian cast serious doubt on the use of Zinc White.  Fear and skepticism about its use remain today as artist lean toward use of Titanium White exclusively or Lead White or Lead White Hues.

Syntax of Color

(1-29-2026)