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Daler-Rowney 1783-2006
Daler-Rowney’s reputation as a manufacturer of the Finest Art Materials dates back more than 200 years. In 1983, the Daler Board Company purchased the George Rowney Company to become Daler-Rowney Limited as it’s known today. In their own specialist areas of manufacture, both companies led the development of fine artist’s materials in the United Kingdom for hundreds of years. The combined heritage of both companies and the Daler-Rowney name has become synonymous with consistent quality to artists throughout the world.
In 1783, the Rowney Company was established when Richard and Thomas Rowney moved to central London and opened a premises selling perfumes and wig powder. As the wearing of wigs soon became unfashionable (an event for which George IV was blamed as he discarded his own wig), the Rowney’s re-focused themselves and concentrated upon producing artists colour. They accomplished notable success, supplying such famous artists as Constable and Turner. Turner was indeed a family friend for whom the company became the appointed official lithographers.
The Rowney Company relocated many times during the 19th and 20th centuries and achieved many improvements in the manufacture and production of oil and watercolour throughout this time. In 1963, Rowney was the first manufacturer in Europe to introduce an artist’s Acrylic colour. ‘Cryla’ was widely used by artist’s in the United Kingdom throughout the 1960’s and 70’s and heralded a new era in art practice which became known as ‘Pop Art’. Two of the most well known proponents, Peter Blake and Bridget Riley, used Rowney ‘Cryla’ acrylics extensively during this period.
In 1969, the company made its final move out of central London to its present address and headquarters in Bracknell, England. The business had passed through generations of Rowney children and Tom Rowney was now at the helm. Tom worked as Managing Director for over 30 years but as he had no family following him in the business, he looked for a buyer. Morgan Crucible, a conglomerate, bought the George Rowney Company in 1968 and managed its operations for a number of years. In 1983 the company was re-sold to the Daler-Board Company (1983 also being Rowney’s bi-centennial year).
The Daler Board Company was incorporated in 1946 starting life the previous year when Terry Daler returned from a German prison camp. With his brother Ken and brother in law Arthur, they initially started business as sign writers. During the Second World War, shop signs along the south coastal towns of England had been painted out so that invading Germans would not know where they were. As a result, the business thrived in the years that followed the end of the war as shop signs were re-painted once more.
Another little known shortage of wartime was the inability for artists to obtain canvas. Typically, an oil painting requires a sealed, toothed surface to pull the thick oil colour off the brush. Arthur, a talented artist himself, improvised to create a new surface to replace canvas. Cardboard was sealed and primed through a mesh (we believe he used a kitchen net curtain), which when removed left a perfectly textured surface. Arthur’s canvas substitute was eventually developed into a commercial product and the ‘Daler Board’ was born.
Daler developed a variety of products across the whole spectrum of artist’s materials between 1945 and 1960 including pads such as the distinctive red and yellow Series A. Other new products to the Daler range included canvas panels, stretched canvas, mountboard and artist’s luggage. In 1975, Daler introduced the first synthetic brush to the artists materials market. ‘Dalon’ was the first real rival to the sable brush for over 100 years.
Once the two companies merged, Daler-Rowney became highly successful in the United Kingdom and has held the largest percentage share of the market in artist’s materials for many years. Expansion into the European market occurred in 1991 when a Belgium distributor ‘Art & Craft’ was purchased. This warehouse has now become the European sales & marketing and distribution centre.
Daler-Rowney had already established distribution offices in New Jersey, USA in 1988, and in 1994 bought the premier brand of artist’s brushes in the USA, ‘Robert Simmons’. The company has three manufacturing sites – colour and artists substrates at two sites in the United Kingdom and brushes in the Dominican Republic. Exports are made to over 90 countries worldwide.
Daler-Rowney has maintained and built upon its reputation as ‘The Artist’s Choice Since 1783’ and continues to be trusted by artists worldwide today. Every product is endorsed by the Daler-Rowney guarantee of quality. It’s a promise we don’t make lightly. After all, we have a reputation to live up to.
(From Daler-Rowney)