Gunnar Tonnquist has passed away at the age of 99 years old
Our renowned Colour Researcher Gunnar Tonnquist has left us July 30, 2024, in Solna, Sweden. He was born April 24, 1925, in China as a son of the Swedish missionaries Sven and Edit Tonnquist.
Gunnar Tonnquist was a physicist, and Ass. Professor/Laborator at Swedish National Defence Research and Department of Physics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Tonnquists’ main research interests include photography, colorimetry, colour vision and order systems. During the development of the NCS-system Gunnar was in charge of the research department working with questions related to colorimetry.
Gunnar Tonnquist was the chairman of the Swedish Colour Group (later on Swedish Colour Centre Foundation) from 1964 to 1975. 1965 an international committee was set up to prepare an International Colour Association in which Gunnar was strongly involved and contributed to the start of the International Colour Association, AIC, in Washington DC 1967. An interim Committee was elected with Gunnar as Vice-President with the task to arrange the 1st AIC Congress in 1969 This congress was held in Stockholm and Gunnar could welcome 478 delegates and 83 accompanying persons from 22 countries and a full AIC Executive Committee was elected. Since that time Gunnar has participated in many AIC meetings and has been a renowned and honoured member in the international colour research society. 1992 Gunnar Tonnquist delivered a speech “25 Years of Colour with the AIC – and 25 000 Without” at the AIC Silver Jubilee banquet in Princeton.
From 1964 Gunnar Tonnquist, together with Anders Hård and Lars Sivik, was the research team that developed the Natural Colour System (NCS). The research was headed by Anders Hård and was completed in 1978. Gunnar invented a computer program COLOUR/INVERS that made it possible to accurately translate physical measured values into visual NCS notations and vice versa.
1997 at the AIC 8th Congress, Kyoto, Japan the three scientists were given the AIC Judd Award for their exceptional work which culminated in the NCS-system and its atlas. The research was characterized by the phenomenological analysis of the experience of colour in spirit of Hering.
Gunnar Tonnquist was also the chairman of the Swedish Standards Committee on colour notation. In the Commission International de l' Eclairage he was member of the Technical Committee for Colorimetry and chairman of its subcommittee on Colour Terminology. Terminology.
We, Anders and Berit, started at the Scandinavian Colour Institute (now NCS Colour AB) 1990. Gunnar was always there for us, ready to explain whatever we had to ask him. He had such a great and solid knowledge about colour theory in many different aspects like physics, physiology, psychology and psychophysics. Gunnar was very respected in the international colour society. He was happy to introduce us, which has allowed us to take part in the international knowledge and research on colour.
Gunnar Tonnquist gave the introductory lecture “Colours – from Rays to Sensations” at the Interim Meeting of the International Colour Association 2008. Hosted by the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation 15–18 June in Stockholm, Sweden.
Berit Bergström & Anders Nilsson
Swedish Colour Center Foundation (Stiftelsen Svenskt Färgcentrum) & NCS Colour AB