Liquitex

Liquitex is an American professional artist-materials brand focused on acrylic paints, acrylic mediums, surfaces, tools, and related supplies. The brand is associated with the development and commercialization of water-based acrylic painting materials for artists, a category that offered faster drying, easier cleanup, and different handling characteristics from traditional oil paints. Its product range is centered on acrylic color systems with multiple viscosities, including fluid and soft-body formulations as well as thicker heavy-body colors, alongside mediums that alter gloss, transparency, texture, flow, drying behavior, and surface effects. The brand emerged from the Permanent Pigments Company, a small family-owned art-materials manufacturer established in Cincinnati in 1933 by Henry Levison. Permanent Pigments initially concentrated on oil paint. Levison was also involved in organizing the National Art Materials Trade Association in 1950, an industry body later known as the International Art Materials Trade Association. The organization was intended to support the manufacture, distribution, sale, and education surrounding art materials. In 1955, Levison developed a quick-drying acrylic polymer resin emulsified in water. The name Liquitex combined the ideas of liquid and texture, reflecting the material's fluid base and its suitability for building texture in artwork. The same year, the business was reorganized under the Liquitex name and introduced a water-based acrylic gesso. In 1956, Liquitex began selling Soft Body acrylic colors. The company later expanded the acrylic system with High Viscosity Artist Color, commonly associated with the Heavy Body line, which became available in 1963. These products helped establish acrylic as a serious medium for professional artists rather than merely an industrial or craft coating. Liquitex products were adopted by a number of prominent modern and contemporary artists. Helen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol were early users of Liquitex acrylics. David Hockney moved from oils toward acrylic after the introduction of a less-liquid, higher-viscosity acrylic formulation in 1963. Robert Motherwell also used acrylic extensively, in part because acrylic black dried much more quickly than oil black, while mural artists including Thomas Hart Benton used the medium for large-scale work. Such use contributed to acrylic's acceptance across painting, mural work, abstraction, pop art, and mixed-media practice. Binney & Smith acquired the Liquitex brand in 1964. In 2000, ownership passed to Colart, an international art-materials group. Liquitex remains positioned as an artist-focused acrylic specialist and describes its range as one of the broadest acrylic product portfolios in the world. Its offer extends beyond paint to gessoes, mediums, varnishes, tools, and painting surfaces. In 2017, the brand introduced its first cadmium-free pigments, responding to environmental and health concerns associated with heavy-metal pigments. The brand's current public identity therefore combines technical acrylic innovation, professional color performance, educational support, and a broad system of materials for painting and mixed-media applications.

Liquitex grew out of Permanent Pigments, a Cincinnati-based family art-materials company founded by Henry Levison in 1933. The predecessor business initially focused on oil paints. Levison later became involved in the wider organization of the art-materials industry, helping establish the National Art Materials Trade Association in 1950. That organization was subsequently known as the International Art Materials Trade Association and focused on supporting manufacturing, distribution, sales, and education in the art-materials field. The decisive development came in 1955, when Levison created a quick-drying acrylic polymer resin carried in a water emulsion. The new material provided artists with an alternative to oil paint that could dry rapidly and be cleaned up with water. Levison named the product and reorganized the business as Liquitex, a word formed from the concepts of liquid and texture. The company also developed the first water-based acrylic gesso associated with the brand during this period. Liquitex began selling Soft Body acrylic paints in 1956. The formulation was more fluid than later heavy-bodied systems and made acrylic suitable for a range of painting techniques. In 1963, the company made a thicker acrylic color available under the High Viscosity Artist Color designation, later associated with Heavy Body acrylics. This development gave artists greater control over brush marks, impasto, and textured surfaces, while retaining acrylic's comparatively rapid drying time. The material was taken up by artists working in several major postwar art movements. Helen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol were among early adopters. David Hockney shifted from oils toward acrylic after Liquitex introduced a less-liquid, higher-viscosity formulation. Robert Motherwell used acrylic substantially because acrylic black dried faster than oil black, and mural artists such as Thomas Hart Benton also used Liquitex materials. These examples helped demonstrate that acrylic could serve professional studio painting, large-scale murals, abstraction, pop art, and mixed-media work. Binney & Smith acquired the Liquitex brand in 1964. The brand remained within that corporate ownership until 2000, when it was sold to Colart. Under Colart, Liquitex continued to operate as an acrylic-focused artist-materials brand, expanding its portfolio beyond color into mediums, gels, gessoes, varnishes, surfaces, and tools. The brand is known for offering products in different consistencies and for supporting techniques ranging from transparent washes to thick textural applications. A notable later product-development step occurred in 2017, when Liquitex introduced its first cadmium-free pigments. The move addressed concerns about the health and environmental implications of heavy-metal pigments while maintaining a professional acrylic color offering. Liquitex's historical significance lies principally in helping establish water-based acrylic paint as a versatile professional medium and in building a broad, integrated acrylic system around that technology.

• 2017

  Cadmium-free pigments are introduced

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Liquitex launches its first cadmium-free pigments amid concerns about heavy-metal content in artist colors.

• 2000

  Liquitex becomes part of Colart

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Binney & Smith sells Liquitex to Colart, its present owner.

• 1964

  Binney & Smith acquires Liquitex

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  The Liquitex brand is acquired by Binney & Smith.

• 1963

  Higher-viscosity acrylic color becomes available

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Liquitex makes a thicker acrylic formulation available, creating an important alternative for artists seeking heavier brushwork and texture.

• 1956

  Soft Body acrylic paints launch

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Liquitex begins selling its Soft Body water-based acrylic paints.

• 1955

  Liquitex acrylic system is developed

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Levison develops a quick-drying, water-emulsified acrylic polymer resin, introduces water-based acrylic gesso, and reorganizes the business under the Liquitex name.

• 1950

  National Art Materials Trade Association is founded

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Henry Levison and other industry professionals establish the National Art Materials Trade Association, later known as the International Art Materials Trade Association.

• 1933

  Permanent Pigments is established

  [1]Liquitexen.wikipedia.org

  Henry Levison establishes the Permanent Pigments Company in Cincinnati as a family-owned art-materials business initially focused on oil paint.

Professional artist-grade acrylic specialist emphasizing technical acrylic expertise, broad color and viscosity choices, and a complete system of paints, mediums, grounds, and finishing products.

• Acrylic paint · 1956

  Soft Body Acrylic

  Soft Body is Liquitex's relatively fluid acrylic color range. It is designed for applications requiring smooth spreading, blending, glazing, flowing marks, and broad coverage without the heavier body of impasto-oriented paint. The range represents one of the brand's earliest commercial acrylic offerings and forms part of Liquitex's broader system of colors and compatible mediums.

• Acrylic paint · 1963

  Heavy Body Acrylic

  Heavy Body acrylic is a thicker, higher-viscosity color intended for pronounced brushwork, palette-knife application, impasto, and textured painting. Its development followed Liquitex's work on less-liquid acrylic color in the early 1960s and helped position acrylic as a medium capable of supporting substantial surface texture as well as thin applications.

• Surface preparation · 1955

  Acrylic gesso

  Liquitex acrylic gesso is a water-based ground used to prepare painting surfaces for acrylic and other media. Its historical importance is tied to the brand's early development of water-based acrylic gesso in 1955, one of the foundational products in the Liquitex acrylic system.

• Acrylic medium

  Acrylic mediums and gels

  Liquitex mediums and gels are designed to modify acrylic paint characteristics such as flow, transparency, gloss, texture, drying behavior, and adhesion. They allow artists to extend color, create translucent layers, build relief and texture, or adapt acrylics for techniques beyond straightforward brush application.

• Acrylic paint · 2017

  Cadmium-free pigments

  Liquitex's cadmium-free pigments provide alternatives to cadmium-containing colors within its acrylic range. Their introduction reflected the brand's response to concerns surrounding heavy-metal pigments and expanded the choice of professional colors available to artists seeking to reduce or avoid cadmium use.

• 2017

  Introduce cadmium-free pigmentsProduct launch

  Background

  Heavy-metal pigments, including cadmium, raised health and environmental concerns in the artist-materials sector.

  Action taken

  Liquitex introduced its first cadmium-free pigments.

  Aftermath

  The launch provided alternatives for artists concerned about cadmium while retaining a professional acrylic color offering.

  Source

• 1963

  Expand acrylics into higher-viscosity colorGeneration change

  Background

  Early acrylic paints offered different handling from oil paints, and artists seeking stronger brush marks and texture required a thicker formulation.

  Action taken

  Liquitex made High Viscosity Artist Color available, a formulation associated with the later Heavy Body range.

  Aftermath

  The higher-viscosity format broadened acrylic's usefulness for impasto, textured work, and artists transitioning from oils.

  Source

• 1955

  Develop and commercialize water-based acrylic materialsProduct launch

  Background

  Permanent Pigments was seeking to extend its art-materials business beyond oil paint. Henry Levison's development of a water-emulsified acrylic polymer created a fast-drying medium suitable for artist use.

  Action taken

  The business adopted the Liquitex name, introduced water-based acrylic gesso, and began building a dedicated acrylic product system.

  Aftermath

  The move helped establish Liquitex as an early specialist in professional water-based acrylic materials.

  Source

1. 1Liquitexen.wikipedia.org