Lead white roundup

I am testing the excellent Michael Harding brand Cremitz white. It really is good stuff. Along with Kremer’s Cremitz white, it’s among the best lead whites that I’ve used. Of course, the lead whites from all the manufacturers still providing the all-important paint are excellent. By the last count, there are eight art supply manufacturers offering lead white today. I’ve used them all.

As all painters know, since the EU regulated lead-based paints, the number of suppliers has fallen as the prices have skyrocketed. In this post, I provide a summary of the remaining lead paint suppliers.

Before I do, here’s a photo of this morning’s palette with the piles of Harding Cremitz white in the middle. I used the paint all over my unfinished painting, White Balloon. This paint handles like a dream.

All of these are excellent, professional-level paint. While the more expensive brands on this list might be slightly better than the reasonably-priced brands, none of them are twice as good let alone four times better in the case of Old Holland.

Today, besides the 40ml tube of Michael Harding that I’m testing, my paint drawer is filled with RGH and Blue Ridge.

Supplier	Size	Price	Notes
Old Holland	225ml tube	$240	Cold-pressed linseed oil binder.
Blockx	200ml tube	$118	Poppyseed oil binder.
Michael Harding	225ml tube	$115	Choice of linseed or walnut binder.
Rublev	150ml tube	$115	Wide variety of lead whites.
Kremer	250ml jar	$199	Choice of linseed or walnut binder.
Doak	150ml tube	$50	Good stuff.
RGH	250ml jar	$65	Offers a variety of lead whites and binders.
Blue Ridge	150ml tube	$45	Basic lead carbonate. Walnut and safflower binder.

When I have a little extra money (inside joke), I might buy a tube of Harding white. Otherwise, I’ll stick with my guys RGH, Doak, and Blue Ridge.

As regular readers know, I refuse to buy Old Holland white. Doesn’t Hunter Biden use Old Holland exclusively?