The British reggae/pop band UB40 began as friends who knew each other from various schools in the UK. The name “UB40″ stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40, referring to the document issued to people claiming unemployment benefit at the time of the band’s formation in 1978.

Needless to say, UB40 went on to sell over 70 million records and receive a Grammy Award nomination. Among their top hits was a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine”….

More than fifty years prior to UB40′s “Red Red Wine”, French artist Henri Matisse experimented with his own version of red subject matter as a tool for creative expression.

Matisse’s 1911 painting The Red Studio depicts the studio he used while residing in a suburb of Paris.

Through Matisse’s use of the red hue, color engulfs the painting and blurs the delineation of architectural form, a token of the artist’s painterly style.

The Red Studio by Henri Matisse

Russian-American abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko filled his paintings with red as well.

The broadway show Red, which closed in 2010, featured an inside look into the thoughts and struggles of Rothko, played by Alfred Molina.

As a color often used to depict a range of powerful emotions, from passion to anger, red proved a fitting title for the Tony-nominated show.

Alfred Molina as Mark Rothko and Eddie Redmayne as Ken in the broadway show Red (Photo: Broadway)

Throughout Red, Rothko and his young apprentice throw red paint onto a larger-than-life canvas, emulating an authentic Rothko painting.

Canvas by Mark Rothko

For some good eats in a royally red atmosphere, head to The Red Cat in Chelsea for American-inspired cuisine.

With red walls and red plates, The Red Cat is the perfect place to bring that special someone, or to treat yourself to a lovely meal!

The Red Cat restaurant (Photo: The Red Cat)

Did you miss The Best Of Blue? More colors to come only at The Bare Square. And don’t forget…. like, share, and tweet your favorites!

- Ava Cotlowitz