Patrick Baty

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 1956) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

architectural paint Architectural coatings or paints are paints and other coatings used to paint the exteriors and interiors of buildings, often calleexterior wall coatingsor external masonry coatings. Clear varnishes and lacquers are generally excluded. Such pr ...

and

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

, who works as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

in the

decoration Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Other ...

historic buildings This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

Early years

He was educated at St Benedict's School, in London, and after a short period as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

soldier in the Parachute Regiment attended the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

being commissioned into the

9th/12th Royal Lancers The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. In the later years of its existence, the regiment served as ...

in 1976. He

resign Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

ed his commission in 1980 when his newly posted

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

opposed his secondment to the

Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces The Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة لسلطان عمان, transliterated: ''al-Quwāt ul-Musallaḥatu lis-Sulṭān 'Umān'') are the Royal Army of Oman, Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman, Sultan's S ...

. Reverting to the rank of Trooper he undertook

Selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strategie ...

for the Artists Rifles leaving as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

some ten years later. After a brief spell with the

Anthony d'Offay Georges Anthony d'Offay (born January 1940) is a British art dealer, collector and curator. His was born to a Seychellois father. Life and career Georges Anthony d'Offay was born in January 1940 in Sheffield to a French father. He began dealin ...

gallery he joined his family

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

business Papers and Paints. Having always had an interest in

he began a study of the methods and materials employed in their decoration. In 1993 he completed a part-time degree in the subject at the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

Recent career

Patrick Baty has acted as a consultant on many major restoration projects in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was a long-standing committee member of the

Georgian Group The Georgian Group is a British charity, and the national authority on Georgian architecture built between 1700 and 1837 in England and Wales. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Georgian Group is a statutory consultee on alterat ...

and a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of both the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

and the

Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. Baty is a founding member of both the Traditional Paint Forum and the Architectural Paint Group.

Projects

Projects have ranged from King Henry VIII's heraldic Beasts; Baroque churches; country houses; wartime RAF stations and London housing estates to structures such as Tower Bridge and Holborn Viaduct. He also works in the USA.

Work with colour

In the 1980s Patrick Baty produced a range of paint colours based on those offered by a Scottish house-painter in 1807, this sparked off the present wave of historically-themed paint ranges which are still seen today. In April 2000, ''

Homes & Gardens ''Homes & Gardens'' is a British monthly interior design and garden design magazine published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that sp ...

'' described him as being "Undoubtedly the most influential of our (paint) experts…whose breadth and depth of knowledge is unrivalled". In recent years, on two separate occasions, he has been employed by ICI (

Dulux Dulux is an internationally available brand of architectural paint originated from the United Kingdom. The brand name Dulux has been used by both Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based pa ...

) and The Little Greene to develop ranges of traditional paint colours for

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. Colour ranges have also been produced for the French and German markets. The colours traditionally employed on the exteriors of buildings in Bath,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

and in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

have been investigated for the local planning authorities and guidelines produced for them. The colours used on the exteriors of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

houses in the 19th century have also been identified and an article published for the

Chelsea Society The Chelsea Society was founded in 1927, by the Chelsea historian and author Reginald Blunt, with the aim of protecting the historic fabric of Chelsea and of influencing future environmental changes. The Society's aims are to protect ...

. He has recently finished work on a range of exterior colours based on regional use in France. A similar project looking at regional colour in the United Kingdom is in progress. In 2007 his company, Papers and Paints, was awarded a Royal Warrant for his work with colour.

Personal life

He is married with a daughter and two sons. Patrick Baty is the great grandson of the artists

Robert Polhill Bevan Robert Polhill Bevan (5 August 1865 – 8 July 1925) was a British painter, draughtsman and lithographer. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group. Early life He was born in Bruns ...

and his wife, Stanisława de Karłowska. His direct ancestors also include Silvanus Bevan (The Banker), and his wife, Louise Kendall Bevan, Timothy Bevan and his wife, Elizabeth Barclay Bevan, David Bevan and his wife, Favell Bourke Lee Bevan, Robert Cooper Lee Bevan, and his wife, Lady Agneta Elizabeth Yorke Bevan, Robert Barclay (The Quaker Apologist), David Barclay) among several others. Sir

Philip Hendy Sir Philip Anstiss Hendy (27 September 1900 – 6 September 1980) was a British art curator who worked both in Britain and overseas, notably the United States. In 1923, he began his career in art administration as an Assistant Keeper and lectu ...

, Director of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

(1946–1967), commented that the aforementioned Robert Polhill Bevan was perhaps the first Englishman to use pure colour in the 20th Century.

Lecturing and writing

Baty lectures often on the general subject of paint and colour of the 18th and 19th centuries. The audiences range widely from the staff of the national amenity organisations, to

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

enthusiasts. He has been a frequent lecturer on graduate and

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

courses at several universities, to architects on

Continuing Professional Development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

courses, and to conservation officers. He has spoken at a number of international symposia in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and lectured and run courses along the East coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.
His published works are listed here and he has also contributed to and edited various other books on the subject of paint and colour;

Robert Bevan Robert Polhill Bevan (5 August 1865 – 8 July 1925) was a British painter, draughtsman and lithographer. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, the London Group, and the Cumberland Market Group. Early life He was born in Bruns ...

and also on The Artists Rifles.

Select Bibliography

"Palette of Historic Paints."
Country Life, 20 Feb. 1992: 56–57.
"Palette of the Past."
Country Life, 3 Sep. 1992: 44–47. * House Decoration, by Paul Hasluck. An introduction to the facsimile edition. Donhead Publishing, Dorset. 2001.
"Inspired by the Past?"
In John Fowler: The Invention of the Country-House Style. Donhead Publishing, Dorset. 2005. This paper follows the English Heritage/Traditional Paint Forum conference Inspired by the Past that took place in London on 4 July 2001.
"The Colours
of

." The Chelsea Society Report, 2003.
"The Colours
of

Calke Calke is a small village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It includes the historic house Calke Abbey, a National Trust property, although the main entrance to its grounds is from the neighbouring villag ...

." The World of Interiors, December 2007: 139–143. * "Exterior Colour on the Smaller Town House" in Materials & Skills for Historic Building Conservation. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. 2008.
"Straws from Cumberland Market"
in the catalogue for an exhibition of works of art at Southampton City Art Gallery entitled "A Countryman in Town:

and the

Cumberland Market Group The Cumberland Market Group was a short-lived artistic grouping in early twentieth century London. The group met in the studio of Robert Bevan in Cumberland Market, the old hay and straw market off Albany Street, and held one exhibition. Histo ...

”. 26 September to 14 December 2008. * "The Colourful Past of the Royal Festival Hall" in Architectural Finishes in the Built Environment. Archetype Books, London. 2009. * "Paint Colour and Paintwork" in Interior Finishes & Fittings for Historic Building Conservation. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. 2012. * (Contribution to) Metals. English Heritage Practical Building Conservation. Ashgate Publishing. 2012. * "Family Colours". Tate Magazine (issue 27: Spring 2013): 27–29.
The Anatomy of Colour.
Thames & Hudson. 2017.

References

External links

Architectural Paint and Colour ConsultantPatrick Baty's published workPatrick Baty's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baty, Patrick Living people 1956 births People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 9th/12th Royal Lancers officers Artists' Rifles officers English historians English male non-fiction writers Bevan family