Audubon Russet (BM HC-51)

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Audubon Russet (BM HC-51) is a deep, warm brown from Benjamin Moore: LRV 21, so it reflects about 21 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Audubon Russet
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Audubon Russet by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper brown, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Benjamin Moore did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Audubon Russet, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Cavern Clay | SW 7701 | 20 | 1.0 | indistinguishable |
| Behr | Sunset Orange | BXC-39 | 20.9 | 1.1 | very close |
| Valspar | Bear Claw | 2004-5A | 20 | 1.8 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Copper Beech | 1067-5 | 22 | 2.0 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore brown colors nearest to Audubon Russet (LRV 21) by LRV.
Lighter than Audubon Russet
Darker than Audubon Russet
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-51 |
| Hex | #AE6B55 |
| RGB | 174, 107, 85 |
| HSL | 15°, 35%, 51% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 21 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 52.0, 24.3, 23.6 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow-Red |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Brown |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Audubon Russet (BM HC-51), published as #AE6B55
#A06254
#BD7454
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Audubon Russet (BM HC-51)?
- Audubon Russet has an LRV of 21. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Audubon Russet is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Audubon Russet in another brand?
- Cavern Clay (SW 7701) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 1.0 (indistinguishable).
- Is Audubon Russet warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Audubon Russet as warm, with a Warm Yellow-Red undertone. Its Lab b* value is 23.6; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.