Peter Davidson

I suppose it could be said that I come from a line of colourists – my great grandfather, the artist Robert Bevan, was described by a former director of the National Gallery as being “perhaps the first Englishman to use pure colour in the twentieth century.” Bevan’s wife, Stanisława de Karłowska, also a successful artist combined a modernist style with colours inspired by her native Poland. My father, Robert, set up Papers and Paints, a specialist paint business in Chelsea, London in 1960 and quickly developed a reputation for his work with colour. I initially pursued a career in the Army, but joined him in 1986 and have run the business with my wife ever since. Since carrying out a research degree which focused on “The Methods and Materials of the House-painter 1650-1850” I have been running a consultancy that advises on the use of paint and colours in historic buildings. Buildings have ranged in size and type from Royal palaces; country houses and cathedrals to museums; a wartime RAF station and London housing estates. Particular favourites have included the paint analysis at Stowe and a study of the Royal Beasts of Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace. In the USA I have assisted in a number of notable projects, some examples being for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Historic Charleston, Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Tryon Palace. I have also carried out private commissions in Virginia and South Carolina. Many jobs have also been carried out in Scotland and Ireland. I have been teaching, lecturing and writing on the subject of paint and colour for many years and have supervised several postgraduate students. I have contributed to many books on the subject of paint, colour and decoration. I lecture frequently on the general subject of paint and colour of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Audiences range widely from the staff of the national amenity organisations, to preservation enthusiasts. I have also been a frequent lecturer on graduate and postgraduate courses at several universities, to architects on Continuing Professional Development courses, and to conservation officers. I have spoken at a number of international symposia in Europe, and in the USA.