It was New York City, 1949. Unable to find quality artists’ linen on this side of the Atlantic, artist Norman Gulamerian began importing fine linen from Europe with his brother, Harold. The two fledgling art supply sellers named their venture Utrecht Linens, Inc., after their neighborhood school New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, and dedicated themselves to supplying artists with the highest quality art materials for the best value. The brothers’ art supply business grew quickly. In 1957, Norman and Harold developed their revolutionary acrylic gesso for priming canvas. Utrecht Professional Acrylic Gesso one of the first acrylic based ground gessoes that worked with both oil or water based mediums introduced unprecedented simplicity to the canvas preparation process while also making it possible to paint on a huge range of surfaces. Utrecht Gesso is considered by many artists to be the best acrylic ground available today. By the end of the early 1960s, the Gulamerian brothers had expanded the Utrecht line to include professional-grade oil paints, acrylics, watercolor supplies, brushes, and papers, which they sold at direct from manufacturer prices. Today, Utrecht Artists\' Colors are still handcrafted in that same Brooklyn factory using the finest pigments and a milling process artists have loved for more than 50 years. Artists can count on Utrecht Artists\' Colors to maintain the same consistency, quality, and performance from batch to batch and year to year. In ApriIt was New York City, 1949. Unable to find quality artists’ linen on this side of the Atlantic, artist Norman Gulamerian began importing fine linen from Europe with his brother, Harold. The two fledgling art supply sellers named their venture Utrecht Linens, Inc., after their neighborhood school New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, and dedicated themselves to supplying artists with the highest quality art materials for the best value. The brothers’ art supply business grew quickly. In 1957, Norman and Harold developed their revolutionary acrylic gesso for priming canvas. Utrecht Professional Acrylic Gesso one of the first acrylic based ground gessoes that worked with both oil or water based mediums introduced unprecedented simplicity to the canvas preparation process while also making it possible to paint on a huge range of surfaces. Utrecht Gesso is considered by many artists to be the best acrylic ground available today. By the end of the early 1960s, the Gulamerian brothers had expanded the Utrecht line to include professional-grade oil paints, acrylics, watercolor supplies, brushes, and papers, which they sold at direct from manufacturer prices. Today, Utrecht Artists\' Colors are still handcrafted in that same Brooklyn factory using the finest pigments and a milling process artists have loved for more than 50 years. Artists can count on Utrecht Artists\' Colors to maintain the same consistency, quality, and performance from batch to batch and year to year. In April 2013, Utrecht became part of the Blick Art Materials family. In its third generation of family ownership, Blick is the largest and oldest provider of art supplies in the United States. Blick is extensive selection, competitive prices, and superior customer service make it the choice for professional and amateur artists, art educators, architects, designers, students, and hobbyists virtually anyone requiring quality art materials for work or pleasure. Utrecht continues to stay true to its Brooklyn roots and is officially recognized with Gold Certification status by the Brooklyn Made program. This program, sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, distinguishes Utrecht as a leading, locally based manufacturer and employer.