Albert Henry Munsell

Infobox Person
name = Albert Henry Munsell

---

image_size = 200px
caption = Photograph of Munsell from "A Color Notation"
birth_date = birth date|1858|1|6
birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
death_date = death date and age|1918|6|28|1858|1|6
death_place = Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
nationality = USA
occupation = painter, Art Teacher, Inventor
field = Color science
education =
known_for = Munsell color system
spouse =
parents =
children = A.E.O. Munsell

Albert Henry Munsell (6 January 1858 – 28 June 1918) was an American painter, teacher of art, and the inventor of the Munsell color system.

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, attended and served on the faculty of Massachusetts College of Art, and died in nearby Brookline.

As a painter, he was noted for seascapes and portraits.

Munsell is famous for inventing the Munsell color system, an early attempt at creating an accurate system for numerically describing colors. He wrote three books about it: "A Color Notation" (1905), "Atlas of the Munsell Color System" (1915) and one published posthumously, "A Grammar of Color: Arrangements of Strathmore Papers in a Variety of Printed Color Combinations According to The Munsell Color System" (1921). The Munsell color order system has gained international acceptance and has served as the foundation for many other color order systems, including CIELAB. In 1917, he founded the Munsell Color Company.

Munsell’s son, A.E.O. Munsell, continued to popularize Munsell's color system after his death

External links

* Albert Munsell was an alumnus and member of the faculty at [http://www.massart.edu Massachusetts College of Art and Design]
* [http://www.mcsl.rit.edu/ Munsell Color Science Laboratory] at Rochester Institute of Technology.
** [http://www.cis.rit.edu/mcsl/about/munsell.php Short biography] of Professor Munsell
** " [http://www.cis.rit.edu/mcsl/online/munselldiaries.php A. H. Munsell Color Diary, 1899-1918] ". Scans of Munsell's diaries, showing his changing ideas about color.
* [http://www.xrite.com/top_munsell.aspx Munsell products] at the website of X-Rite, current owners of the Munsell Color Company.

Patents

* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=lvNwAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 417,831] . "Artist's Easel". December 1889.
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=W_91AAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 640,792] . "Color-Sphere and Mount". January 1900.
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=bWBqAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 686,827] . "Photometer". 19 November 1901.
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=E35GAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 717,596] . "Spinning-Top". 6 January 1903.
* [http://www.google.com/patents?id=qysMAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 824,374] . "Color Chart or Scale". June 1906.