Before Blue Won, Klein Tried Pink and Gold

In the years after the late 1940s, French artist Yves Klein narrowed his canvases to a single color at a time, working through pink and gold before he settled on blue. By the wire's account, he was not simply choosing a favorite shade — he was searching for a vehicle, a way of carrying that color that met his own standard for how it should be seen. Blue was the last of three finalists, not the first idea.

With reporting from The Collector.