Vandyke brown

American  

noun

1. a medium brown color.

2. any of several dark-brown pigments consisting of iron oxide mixed with lampblack or similar materials.

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Vandyke brown British  

noun

1. 1. a moderate brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a Vandyke-brown suit

2. any of various brown pigments, usually consisting of a mixture of ferric oxide and lampblack

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Etymology

Origin of Vandyke brown

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vandyke brown

The whole was trimmed with a beading of yellow pine, and rubbed, and pumice-stoned, and oiled, and I got out my tubes of paint and painted the nail-holes with Vandyke brown.

From Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe Compiled From Her Letters and Journals by Her Son Charles Edward Stowe by Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Distant hills may be strengthened with a tint of French blue and lake, and Vandyke brown with the crimson will be found admirable for a rich coloured foreground.

From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Salter, Thomas

We were going to have roast pork for dinner with boiled potatoes and what Andrew calls Vandyke brown gravy.

From Parnassus on Wheels by Morley, Christopher

The pigments most used for oil stains are: burnt and raw umber, burnt and raw sienna, Vandyke brown, drop black, and medium chrome yellow.

From Handwork in Wood by Noyes, William

She dipped her brush into a pot of Vandyke brown and painted one of the whittled toy horses in two strokes.

From McTeague by Norris, Frank