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 a Paint by Numbers seascape with rich blue waves crashing on a rocky coastline. The original kit titled ‘Pounding Surf’ contained 40 oil colours which made it among the more detailed of the kits. One interesting aspect of this painting is the orange triangle on the rock in the bottom right corner, as that colour was not included in the original 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