Right from its beginning, it was planned that the Bermuda National Gallery, in addition to holding exhibitions and developing an art collection, would also host art lectures. This was thought important by those who oversaw the planning of the BNG, back in the 1980s, in that they saw the National Gallery as a special kind of educational institution and considered the lecture series as part of that mandate.Initially, most of the lectures were home grown, with an occasional guest from overseas, but in these cases, they were usually here on the Island and managed to fit a talk into their schedule. The lunchtime lecture series was notably popular, with its varied presentations, including the frequent showing of art films. Of note were the very popular art history slide lectures presented by Maurine Cooper. During the Biennial season, it was common for the BNG to host ongoing biennial artists symposia, whereby audience and artist could interact.Eventually, as the reputation of the BNG grew, PartnerRe stepped in to underwrite the lecture series and for this we artists are most grateful.Over the more recent years that they have sponsored these lectures, quite a variety of topics have been covered, such as one on Rembrandt that coincided with an exhibition of Rembrandt etchings, or a lecture on Inuit art, that went along with an exhibition on Inuit sculpture. Those who have been regular attendees at the PartnerRe Lecture Series have received a broad and ongoing education in the visual arts. The PartnerRe lecturers come from a variety of destinations, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Toronto and from several Caribbean islands and often, their place of residence colours the topic of their talk.Considering colour, the most recent lecture was presented by Charles A Riley II, who spoke on the topic of the arts and colour, including its application to music and philosophy. Dr Riley is well able to deal with this topic, as he is the author of a recently published book, ‘Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology’. Additionally, he is a highly animated speaker, who effectively held the attention of his audience by various means, including the use of visual aids. He also demonstrated aspects of colour, as applied to music by playing brief passages on the piano. Colour theory was also applied to some of the paintings in the David L White Collection, which is currently being exhibited in the Ondaatje Wing of the BNG.Having researched colour theory myself, which I also taught for many years, I was interested in what Dr Riley had to say regarding Isaac Newton's colour theory, versus that of Goethe. In the end he said that of course Goethe was completely wrong. After the lecture, and in conversation between he and me, I said that although I understood how Goethe was wrong in regard to colour physics, nevertheless Goethe had a wide-ranging influence on many artists, over many decades, in regard to colour psychology and perception and in that I thought he was not wrong. That, Dr Riley conceded.During the lecture, he also touched on that centuries’ old debate about which is more important, line or colour. It is interesting in that he likened line to the masculine. Whereas, quoting Charles Blanc, a 19th century French art critic, he thought colour was feminine in nature. Dr Riley expanded on these differences, by pointing out that line is rational and responsible, while colour is irrational and emotional. He also referred to the fear of colour, which is known by the term chromaphobia.Continuing his talk, Dr Riley referred to Josef Albers and his phenomenal book, ‘The Interaction of Colour’, and how Albers, when painting his series known as the Homage to the Square, would in particular areas, use only a colour from a particular tube. Albers recognised that even though it may have been the same brand and colour, paint from different tubes could not be guaranteed to be exactly the same. Albers also recognised that placing a colour next to another colour would change our perception of both, hence the title of his book. It is also recognised that none of us, even if we have "normal" vision, ever perceive a particular colour in quite the same way as another person. I am sure that these differences also apply to our other senses. I am told that fussy eaters, for example, often have more highly developed taste receptors.Many of us tend to take colour for granted still, it has a fascinating history and this includes not only the development of coloured pigments, but coloured light as well. Back in the times of ancient Greece, the artist's palette was drastically limited and over the centuries there has been a growing expansion of the availability of coloured pigments. With the development of modern chemistry and the synthesising of colours, manufacturers have, as never before, been able to increase the number of colours available to the artist. Interestingly, the invention of such a simple device as the paint tube, was a monumental advancement for artists, in that they could buy ready-made paints and use them out of doors, on location, as in plein air painting.The next BNG PartnerRe lecture is on October 30 and features Holly Bynoe, editor of Arc Magazine, a journal devoted to the culture of the Caribbean.Christa Clark, a specialist on African art at the Newark Museum, New Jersey speaks on November 8.For more information telephone 295-9428 or visit www.bng.bm.