19th-century American painting · art-to-room palette

Mountain Brook Color Palette & Paint Colors

A woodland palette of near-black browns and olives with a warm gold and a pale peach. The palette suits a library, den or bedroom with a deep, quiet mood.

Quick answer

Use the pale peach #F7D0AD on the walls, the olive-gold #988957 on the main furniture and #5C503C as an accent. Keep #262520 for details.

Artist: Albert Bierstadt
Date: 1863
Movement: 19th-century American painting
Collection: The Art Institute of Chicago
Image license: Public domain (CC0)
Wall color LRV: 68

Mountain Brook by Albert Bierstadt — Albert Bierstadt, *Mountain Brook*, 1863. The Art Institute of Chicago, open access. The bar shows each color's measured share of the canvas.

The 6 colors in this painting

Measured from the image and ordered by how much of the canvas they cover. LRV is how much light a color reflects, from 0 for black to 100 for white.

Forest shadow

#403C2F · 36.6% · LRV 5

Dark bark

#5C503C · 25.6% · LRV 8

Charcoal black

#262520 · 21.9% · LRV 2

Mossy wood

#80694C · 9.7% · LRV 15

Olive gold

#988957 · 3.1% · LRV 25

Warm peach

#DAAD84 · 3.1% · LRV 47

Where each color lives in the painting

Left, every pixel of the canvas snapped to its nearest palette color. Right, the detail where each color is strongest.

Mountain Brook reduced to its palette colors — The same scene in 6 flat colors.

Detail of the painting where Forest shadow is strongest — Forest shadow

Detail of the painting where Dark bark is strongest — Dark bark

Detail of the painting where Charcoal black is strongest — Charcoal black

Detail of the painting where Mossy wood is strongest — Mossy wood

Detail of the painting where Olive gold is strongest — Olive gold

Detail of the painting where Warm peach is strongest — Warm peach

Closest paint colors

The nearest color from each brand. “Near-identical” and “Very close” are hard to tell apart on a wall; with “Similar”, compare a sample with the painting. Brands with nothing close are left out.

Painting color	Closest paints	LRV	Use it for
Forest shadow `#403C2F`	Behr S-H-710 Dried Leaf Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6174 Andiron Very close Valspar 6010-3 Olive Suede Similar Farrow & Ball No. 256 Pitch Black Similar	5	One small textile
Dark bark `#5C503C`	Sherwin-Williams SW 6160 Best Bronze Near-identical Behr QE-32 Treemoss Close Valspar 6009-3 Montana Moss Close Farrow & Ball No. 290 Salon Drab Similar	8	One bold piece
Charcoal black `#262520`	Sherwin-Williams SW 6258 Tricorn Black Similar Behr 790B-7 Bitter Chocolate Similar Farrow & Ball No. 256 Pitch Black Similar	2	Small accents, art, accessories
Mossy wood `#80694C`	Behr 280F-6 Sweet Georgia Brown Very close Valspar 3006-9A Grecian Helmet Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6139 Mossy Gold Very close Farrow & Ball No. 290 Salon Drab Similar	15	Wood and frames
Olive gold `#988957`	Behr PPU9-02 Lucky Bamboo Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6418 Rural Green Close Valspar 6007-4B Rolling Prairie Close	25	Bed, sofa, curtains
Warm peach `#DAAD84`	Behr BXC-67 Santa Fe Tan Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 2853 New Colonial Yellow Very close Valspar 3002-5C Frankincense Close Farrow & Ball No. 66 India Yellow Similar	47	Main walls

Paint names belong to their brands. Matches are measured from screen colors and are approximate; Light & Pigment is not affiliated with any paint brand.

This painting has no light tone, so the wall color above is a lightened version of its palest color (#F7D0AD).

How the lightest tone looks in your light

The wall color shifted for the light it will live in. Check the version closest to your room before buying a sample.

North-facing room#D6C1AF

North light makes the darks even deeper, and the olive gold #988957 turns a little muted.

South-facing room#F9D5B1

South light brings out the warmth in the gold and the peach and helps the room keep its depth.

Evening, warm lamps (2700K)#CEA881

Warm bulbs give the browns a glow and make the whole palette feel like twilight.

Try the palette in a room

Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.

Walls

Bed, sofa, island

Bold piece

Wood takes Mossy wood and the rug border takes Forest shadow in every combination.

Mood board

Details from the painting next to the colors and materials that carry them into a room.

Warm peach

Olive gold

Dark bark

Linen

Oiled oak

Lime plaster

Aged brass

Save this palette

A card with the painting, all 6 colors and a room scheme. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.

Save to Pinterest Download card

Guides that use colors from this painting

Small Bathroom Paint Colors with No Windows Dark room · Bathroom

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A Marine George Inness, c. 1874–75

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FAQ

Why is the wall color not from the painting?

The painting has no light tone, so the site lightened its palest color to #F7D0AD. It is a suggestion rather than a measured color.

Are the dark colors usable on walls?

The three darkest have an LRV of 2 to 8, so they fit one wall or a small room that you want to feel enclosed.

What adds brightness?

The peach wall color and the gold #988957 at LRV 25 are the lightest tones in the palette.

Image: The Art Institute of Chicago, Public domain (CC0). Palette, posterized image, details and room views generated by Light & Pigment from that image. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.