About Us

Richard and Thomas Rowney, skilled apothecaries, begin grinding perfumed powders not just to colour wigs but to create rich hues that set them apart in Oxford’s elegant salons, laying the groundwork for their future in premium pigments and artist materials.

In pursuit of greater opportunity, the Rowney brothers moved to London. Thomas, trained in law, recognised a gap in the legal sector for quality stationery and drawing materials. He began manufacturing handmade pencils using graphite from the Borrowdale mines in Cumberland, an early sign of the company’s evolving focus on artists’ supplies.

Opening at 95 Holborn Hill, the Rowneys convert part of their shop into a workshop, expanding from perfumes and wig powders into writing and artists’ materials. Their scientific approach to refining pigments plants the seed for an emerging art supply empire.

During this period, the traditional concept of painting as a rigid craft began to evolve. While ecclesiastical works and society portraits remained the domain of trained craftsmen, a new generation of landscape and seascape painters – self-identified as artists – was emerging.

Recognising the decline in wig powder sales, the Rowneys refined their coloured powders further and began supplying pigment to oil colour manufacturers. Drawing on Richard’s chemistry background, Richard pioneered an oil-colour line by blending finely milled pigment with drying oils.

By 1793, their reputation had grown so significantly that they were supplying the Royal Household and received a Royal Warrant – marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship with professional artists.

In 1806, Thomas’s son George entered the firm, and by 1813 formed the partnership Rowney & Forster, ushering in a new era as the company began supplying leading artists like Turner and Constable, gaining credibility in London’s creative circles.

Between 1808 and 1814, Thomas Rowney focused on supplying watercolours and drawing materials to a broad market, offering a wide range of paints, brushes, pencils, primed canvases, and prepared panels, with products recommended by artists such as Benjamin West and used by Washington Allston, who supplied Samuel Morse with Rowney asphaltum in 1812.

Securing a long lease at 51 Rathbone Place gives them a permanent base in central London. Behind the elegant shopfront, small-scale manufacturing of varnish and colour begins – a move that cements their reputation for craftsmanship.

In 1815 George Rowney enters into a partnership with his brother-in-law Richard Forster, a varnish maker. For some years the company will be known as Rowney and Forster. Thomas Rowney and Richard Forster expanded the business in the course of 5 years to include varnish making, black lead pencil manufacturing, lithography painting and book publishing. By now, the company had 3 Central London addresses, all of which, had a small manufacturing facilities behind the shop front for the varnish and colour making.

In 1820, George champions the use of chromolithography – transforming stone into a canvas. This innovation allows the firm to produce vibrant prints at scale, earning accolades and establishing Rowney as Europe’s leading commercial lithographic operation.

Rowney & Forster published a series of lithographic drawing books, 1820-23, before selling out to William Day, publisher and printer of lithographs, whose earliest recorded imprint is 1824, as ‘Successor to Rowney & Forster’.

By 1825, Thomas Rowney’s son, George, headed the company and soon established a close relationship with Joseph Mallord William Turner, leading to George Rowney and Company being appointed official lithographer of Turner’s famous paintings.

The move to Bloomsbury leads to the development of moist watercolour pans with glycerine – offering artists more flexibility, better shelf-life and superior performance – a watershed moment for painting convenience and quality.

Rowney was the first to introduce steam-powered granite roller mills to pigment production, replacing traditional hand milling with a process that prevented overheating and delivered more uniform dispersion of pigments in oil, gum, or acrylic mediums. While some artists preferred the qualities of hand-ground paints, this innovation allowed Rowney to offer greater stability, flexibility, and permanence, especially with the arrival of new industrial pigments.

Among the many loyal artists associated with the Rowney name were English landscape painter Thomas Miles Richardson (1784–1848), Frederick Goodall RA (1822–1904), and Edward Angelo Goodall RWS (1819–1908), part of the renowned Goodall family of artists, all of whom used Rowney materials as part of the wider community of artists connected to the brand.

Rowney adopts Browns’ collapsible lead tubes, replacing unreliable containers. Artists rejoice as paint becomes easier to transport and less prone to spoilage, heralding a revolution in artist mobility and outdoor painting.

From 1844 to 1848, Charles White Dillon partnered with the Rowney family in Rowney, Dillon & Rowney, mainly to expand sales across Britain and Ireland. Beyond product development, Rowney embraced educational publishing. Their ‘Guides to the Fine Arts’, co-published with Dillon and Rowney, offered artistic instruction alongside detailed product catalogues. This approach combined art education and commercial offerings in an innovative format.

During this period, the company supplied high-quality pencils, panels, canvases, and millboards to artists like Ford Madox Brown, and increased trade accounts with major suppliers, establishing Rowney as a leading provider of art materials and educational resources.

By 1850, Rowney offered a wide range of artist materials in an illustrated 44-page catalogue, including watercolours in pans and tubes, sketching boxes, glass paints, Chinese White, asphaltum, watercolour megilp, improved drawing pencils, brushes, palettes, tinted papers, and sketchbooks, with testimonials from prominent artists.

In the 1850s and 1860s, Rowney produced a range of tinted prepared drawing papers, designed to enhance sketches and finished works. Marketed as ‘pencilling tints’ and ‘graduated tints’ as early as 1849, these papers offered artists ready-to-use surfaces in subtle tonal variations, providing a convenient foundation for both pencil and watercolour work. Some sheets also featured a blind stamp on the recto, serving as a mark of quality and authenticity.

George Rowney exhibited at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace and the company continued to supply many famous artists including Turner and John Constable. As the company flourished through the decades the mutual understanding of colours has maintained this special relationship with artists.

Through ties to the East India Company, Rowney sends boxed colour sets, pencils and tools across British India and the Empire, introducing their quality to a global community of artists and schools.

Rowney was the first to introduce Cerulean Blue as a commercially available pigment, branding it as Coeruleum. This innovation became a mainstay in artists’ palettes and showcased Rowney’s commitment to expanding the range of available colours.

From 1860 onwards, Rowney surfaces – canvases, panels, millboards, and sketchbooks – were widely used by leading artists, including Atkinson Grimshaw, William Holman Hunt, Frances Hodgkins, John Singer Sargent, Alfred William Hunt, Spencer Gore, Mark Gertler, and Edward Wadsworth, supporting works in painting, watercolour, tempera, and sketching that are now held in major collections worldwide.

George Rowney & Co returned to the global stage, exhibiting again at the Great Exhibition, building international awareness of their growing range of art materials.

In 1867, at the Paris Exhibition, Rowney won a silver medal for chromo-lithography, recognising their technical expertise in printing processes and their broader contribution to visual arts.

The company built a purpose built factory at Diana Place in Euston Road for the manufacture of artists colours, tracing paper, woodwork, varnish, bottling, book binding, etc on steam driven mills, a real modern project in those days. The name ‘Diana’ has been used on many Daler-Rowney products over time. However, in 1889, a fire broke out at one the blocks of Diana Place, and although confined to the top floor, the damage to stock by water was severe.

The company built a four decker red brick factory in the district of Malden Crescent, Chalk Farm where the pencils and canvas were made, aka ‘Pencil Works’. The factory was to last the company up until 1967 when the company moved to Bracknell.

In response to growing concerns over colour permanence, Rowney published results from internal lightfastness trials led by chemist Henry Seward. These experiments, conducted between 1888 and 1889, tested the effects of sunlight and indoor lighting on both watercolour and oil colour, leading to improved formulations and more informed product labelling.

Beatrix Potter, born Helen Beatrix Heelis, was an English writer, illustrator, naturalist, and conservationist, best known for her children’s books like The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902). She used Rowney sketchbooks and watercolours for her paintings.

Rowney launched Crimson Alizarine, a lightfast alternative to traditional alizarin crimson. This reflected their growing reliance on scientific advancements to improve pigment performance and longevity.

From the 1890s to the 1920s, prominent artists such as John Singer Sargent, Alfred William Hunt, Spencer Gore, Mark Gertler, Charles Henry Sims, Edward Wadsworth, and Edward Steichen used Rowney sketchbooks, boards, and panels for watercolour, tempera, and portrait works, many of which are now held in major collections including the Tate, Ashmolean, Fogg Art Museum, and National Gallery of Art.

Rowney come up with a marvelous idea in the 1890’s to combine ring bound paper into the work of art. They were the first to create a Ring Bound Sketchbooks that were perfect to take out on adventures.

Opening a subsidiary in Paris extends their influence into continental Europe. The new office supports French artists and deepens technical partnerships – while reaffirming Rowney’s international ambitions.

Continuing their award-winning tradition, Rowney secured a Gold Medal at this major international showcase, reinforcing their standing in the fine art materials sector.

Rowney won another Gold Medal at the Japan-British Exhibition. The same year, George Rowney & Co became a founding member of the Fine Art Trade Guild, helping establish quality standards for artists’ materials – a commitment maintained to this day.

Rowney launched this historical medium with the slogan “Introducing George Rowney & Co.’s Tempera Colours”. Egg Tempura was introduced using eggs through a special agreement with the Egg Marketing Board. The eggs needed to be mixed with the pigments within 48 hours of being laid. At the time, George Rowney & Co was the only company to make egg tempura. Production continued until at least 2005, a testament to the product’s enduring legacy.

Rowney pioneered mobile marketing with the launch of a delivery van shaped like a pencil. This not only promoted the brand but also reflected Rowney’s innovative approach to visibility and distribution.

Incorporation as a limited company allows further investment in facilities and distribution. The firm stabilises its leadership position within the art-materials industry. Around this period, Rowney also produces a special miniature pencil for the Queen Mary for the dolls’ house at Windsor Castle, highlighting the company’s connection to royal patronage.

The new Georgian Oil Colour line becomes Britain’s best-selling oil paint. With superior pigment and drying time, it meets a renaissance in realistic and modernist painting styles.

During WWII when the bombs fell onto London, the warehouse at Percy Street was destroyed at least twice, tremendous damage was done at Chalk Farm & at Diana Place. Due to the several art supplies & manufacturers receiving damage during the war, a co-operation was setup between them to help each other rebuild.

In Wareham, Dorset, Daler Board is founded to produce mountboards, canvases, pads and presentation papers. The company designed products for durability and archival performance. The Daler Board later acquired Rowney.

Rowney launches a dedicated art-supplies showroom on Percy Street, London – becoming the go-to destination for professionals and students seeking premium brushes, paints and boards.

Rowney Watercolour Cakes, a beloved staple, ceased production after a fire destroyed the original moulds. The loss marked the end of an era for the company’s traditional cake-based watercolours. The colour factory was moved to Malden Crescent due to this fire.

Rowney was among the first manufacturers in Europe to introduce an artist-quality acrylic colour, with Cryla becoming widely used throughout the 1960s and 1970s as artists embraced new ways of working associated with the rise of Pop Art.

Key figures such as Peter Blake and Bridget Riley used Cryla extensively, while Leonard Rosoman famously described it as “the only kind of paint that gave me everything I wanted”, and David Hockney also turned to the range during the 1970s.

To keep pace with the rapid expansion in home and overseas markets, George Rowney Company moved from London to modern premises situated in a four and a half acre site on the edge of the green belt in Bracknell, Berkshire. This remains the hub of R&D, production and warehousing to this day. On 29th March 1968, Her Royal Highness, Princess Margaret, visited the recently opened Bracknell factory.

The business had passed through generations of Rowney children, but Thomas Rowney who had worked as Managing Director for over 30 years had no family following him in the business. In 1969, he sold the George Rowney Company to Morgan Crucible, a conglomerate which managed Rowney’s operations for a number of years.

In addition, Robert Simmons, later to be acquired by Daler-Rowney Ltd, opened an artist brush factory in La Romana in the Dominican Republic.

Following market feedback, Rowney launched Flow Formula Cryla to meet the needs of artists seeking a more fluid, expressive medium. Despite holding 90% of the UK acrylic market, competition from American imports motivated this innovation.

Rowney was the only company in the world to offer five different varieties of polymer acrylic colour each formulated for a different purpose.

In 1983, Morgan Crucible decided to sell the George Rowney Company to the Daler Board company, famous for their long tradition in the creation of papers, boards and brushes. The Daler-Rowney company was founded – a one-stop leader in the art-supply world.

The System3 range was launched as a high-performance, affordable alternative to artist-quality acrylics, offering durability, high pigment load, and versatility for large-scale work. It quickly became a favourite among art educators and muralists.

The transatlantic connection was further strengthened in 1990 with the acquisition of ink manufacturers Robert Steig, which added the unrivalled FW Artists’ Liquid Acrylics & Pearlescent Inks and Luma & Calli Inks to Daler-Rowney’s product portfolio.

The welcome of Robert Simmons enhances the company’s global brush offering, bringing natural sable and signature artistry to the fore.

Acquiring Cachet brings premium hardback sketchbooks into Daler-Rowney’s range – blending tradition with studio-grade elegance for artists who desire archival quality. The range is now known under Ebony.

Renowned illustrator and concept designer John Howe, celebrated for bringing Tolkien’s Middle-earth to life, relies on Ebony sketchbooks during his travels, describing them as “quite simply the best sketchbooks I have ever owned.”

Catering specifically to art students, the Graduate Acrylic range was introduced as part of a broader strategy to support emerging artists. With a balanced performance-to-cost ratio, it became a staple in colleges and studios.

Daler-Rowney expanded accessibility to art materials with the launch of Simply Acrylic, which became the foundation for the Simply Collection – aimed at beginners and hobbyists. These products provided reliable quality at an affordable price, encouraging more people to explore creativity.

The VIN + OMI x Daler-Rowney collaboration has challenged conventional thinking in fashion and art, encouraging innovation through shared experimentation, with VIN + OMI appointed as global fashion ambassadors in 2018 following their recognised work in sustainable, research-led design. After three years of creative collaborations around London Fashion Week, both brands highlight the partnership as a catalyst for new ways of working, cross-disciplinary exchange and meaningful artistic exploration.

A versatile 400sqm studio space available for a range of creative activities, including training sessions, workshops, artists’ residencies, photo shoots, and filming!

An important step forward in completing what has, since 1987, become the System3 Acrylic Collection, offering four different viscosities: soft body, heavy body, ink, and now fluid, as well as papers and brushes! System3 remains the leading Acrylic Collection in the United Kingdom to date.

Daler-Rowney received the Business of the Year award for the positive impact it has made on local communities, charities, and schools over the years, supporting creativity and art.

From its factories in Bracknell and La Romana, Daler-Rowney manufactures millions of paints, brushes, pads, canvases and tools each year. With more than 240 years of expertise spanning pigment development and archival materials, the brand continues to lead on a global scale. Today, Daler-Rowney works with over 150 artists worldwide to test and develop new products, create meaningful content and support art within communities.