Auburn

Auburn is the burning soul color of the Celts. Ancient Irish warriors bleached their hair auburn with limewater to intimidate enemies on the battlefield. The sly and elegant figure of the red fox in the forest also gave auburn dual overtones of cunning and wisdom in European folklore.

During the Renaissance, Titian of the Venetian School particularly loved auburn. The women in his paintings often have long auburn hair, their skin glowing like pearls against the dark background. This shade, known as Titian red, led European aesthetic trends for centuries.

In the 19th-century American Westward Expansion, auburn was synonymous with cowboys and leather. Sweat and dust-stained saddles, along with auburn log cabins sheltering pioneers, etched rugged individualism onto the spiritual monument of the North American continent.

In Victorian-era Britain, auburn shone brightly in autumn gardening. The Japanese maple brought back from East Asia by plant hunters turned a stunning, intoxicating auburn in late autumn, making this color the finishing touch connecting architecture and wilderness in the English landscape garden.

In contemporary pop culture, auburn is the code word for autumn traffic. From Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Rachel Green's auburn highlights in Friends, whenever the autumn wind begins to blow, this warm but not scorching color stirs a global longing for the good life.