Created by Dan Robbins in the 1950s, Paint by Numbers kits were a cultural phenomenon that was embraced by millions of aspiring artists. A cross between a colouring book and a painting, these kits enabled even a novice painter to become a fine artist. The concept was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci, who used numbered patterns on canvas to teach his apprentices how to paint. Through these kits, Robbins made painting accessible to all, ‘Every man a Rembrandt’ as the packaging said. The finished paintings from the '50s and '60s are now sought after collectors items. We have photographed our five favourites from that era and turned them into these incredible jigsaw puzzles. 

This 1000 piece, 27" x 20" (68.6 x 50.8 cm) rectangular puzzle is of an iconic Paint by Numbers painting: a desert landscape scene with dramatic red rocks and a lone traveller. The original kit titled ‘Painted Desert’ contained 40 oil colours which made it among the more detailed of the kits. The painter’s brush control is evident in the clean lines, hard edges and solid areas of colour that make this painting so recognizable as a Paint by Numbers kit.

The difficulty level of this puzzle is hard. The large number of colours and small details of the painting make this puzzle a satisfying challenge.

To learn about the history of Paint by Numbers, you can read our article here.

pieces : 1000
size : 27" x 20" (68.6 x 50.8 cm) rectangular
difficulty : 4 / 5