Local historian James Glassman is always finding ways to champion Houston. The Houstonia contributor has recalled tales about the early years of Montrose, proposed new city mottoes, and built a loyal social media following by sharing daily tidbits of local history. More recently, he’s turned his eye and his artistic palette toward a new project: capturing Houston in color. 

His latest work, H-Tones, debuted this summer at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This cheeky, celebratory installation features 32 swatches of colors Glassman curated to reflect the city’s culture, history, and quirks. Originally launched on Instagram as a social media series, H-Tones transforms familiar touchstones into signature shades, like Ninfarita Yellow, Menil Gray, Luby’s Fried Fish, and Be Someone Blue, many of which now welcome international travelers after long flights.

The placement is deliberate. Hung on the windows in a one-way sterile corridor just before customs in an international terminal, the vinyl swatches give passengers their first and possibly only glimpse of Houston’s character. To Glassman, it only makes sense to have an audacious and colorful welcome. “Houston is just a bigger city with a bigger airport,” Glassman says. “It’s what we’re about. It’s how we see ourselves, and it’s such a great honor to be included,” he says.

The new installation is a part of Houston’s award-winning collection of airport art, curated by Alton DuLaney, now the city’s chief curator of cultural affairs. Formerly the chief curator of Houston’s airports, DuLaney pitched the concept in April after seeing Glassman’s work online. “One of the things we try to do is establish a sense of place, that they’re in Houston. A large number of passengers never leave the airport. It’s their only exposure to Houston, so we really want to give them a taste of what Houston is,” Dulaney says.

DuLaney says he pitched the idea to his team in April during an international aviation conference in Madrid. Then, he worked with Glassman to narrow down the colors from nearly 100 to print and install on clinging vinyl in August. 

Travelers were intrigued almost immediately. “They were slowing down and engaging with the art,” he says, noting that some were even laughing at the names. “They were getting it.”

For Glassman, there’s joy in striking that chord. Some shades, like Astros Orange, Coogs Red, and Luv Ya Blue, are instantly recognizable. Others are more obscure; Bayou is a shifting blend of browns, grays, and blues; Grackle, a shade inspired by Houston’s infamous bird, evolves from purple, blue, green, to black; and Blast Off, appropriate for Space City, is almost electrifying in the way that it attempts to capture the fire from a rocket. There’s also Rodeo Selena, a shimmery purple inspired by the iconic jumpsuit singer Selena Quintanilla wore at the Houston Rodeo in 1995, Wes Anderson Pink, and Menil Gray, a hue easy to name but most challenging to perfect, Glassman says.

The historian and visual artist doesn’t rely on software to sample shades. Instead, he drives around the city studying neighborhoods and landmarks and lets the feeling guide him. “It is all art; it’s not science,” he says. “It’s vibe. It’s feeling.”

That explains food-inspired favorites like yellow hues of Queso and Kolache, browns that come in Iced Tea and Vietnamese Coffee, Green Sauce and Red Sauce, and a recognizable nod to Beyoncé, a goldish-green gradient swatch that feels very Queen B-ish. Some are “if you know, you know” Easter eggs that only Houstonians will recognize, like Armadillo Gray and Zindler Blue, an homage to local journalist Marvin Zindler. “If you get it right, it’s funny. You’ll either get hungry or have a great smile,” Glassman says.

H-Tones marks just one of Glassman’s many creative efforts to keep Houston’s history alive in fresh ways that also feel unifying—whether it's calendar-worthy moments, maps, mottoes, or colors. Each piece, whether in words or hues, is designed to make Houstonians pause, reflect, and maybe grin.

“It doesn’t need to be photographically identical,” Glassman says. “It just has to be evocative.”