Dr Alexandra Loske

Women in colour history: Their lives and work identified, examined and contextualised

I am a British-German art historian, writer, and museum curator. I live in East Sussex and am the Curator of the Royal Pavilion and Historic Properties at Brighton & Hove Museums. I read English and Linguistics at Humboldt University, Berlin, and Art History at the University of Sussex, where I also received my DPhil in Art History. I have lectured, published, and broadcast widely on the history of colour, both nationally and internationally.

My particular interest is identifying and researching women who have published on the subject of colour in art and design or have made colour and colour theory a significant aspect of their work. In 2024 I gave the Mondrian Lecture at the Sikkens Prize award ceremony in Rotterdam, on pioneering women in colour history, including the Georgian colour theorist Martha (Mary) Gartside.

Selected publications and exhibitions

• Loske, Alexandra (editor and author). The Cultural History of Color in the Age of Industry. Bloomsbury Academic, 2021
• Loske, Alexandra. The Book of Colour Concepts. Taschen, 2024
• Loske, Alexandra. The Artist’s Palette. Thames & Hudson, 2024
• Loske, Alexandra. The Royal Pavilion: A Regency Palace of Colour and Sensation. Yale University Press, 2025

• COLOUR: A Chromatic Promenade Through the Royal Pavilion – The Royal Pavilion, Brighton 2025
• Into the Blue – Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, 2026