The Secret Lives of Color explores the surprising histories behind seventy-five shades, dyes, and hues, from the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux to Picasso’s blue period, and from the brown that changed how battles were fought to imperial purple. Drawing on her lifelong fascination with where colors come from, Kassia St. Clair traces their influence across fashion, politics, art, and war, revealing a vivid history of human culture.