Abstract No. One

'In 1952, Abstract No. One, a cubist still life, was awarded third prize at a San Francisco-area art show. After the competition, it was revealed that the richly colored artwork had been painted from a paint-by-number kit. An exhibition of kit paintings at the Smithsonian in 2001 and the accompanying book by William L. Bird, Jr. cite this competition as the start of the paint-by-number craze.'

'Eric Alberta, from Paint by Number, a 2003 calendar from Workman Publishing, New York.