Crying Maid painted by Picasso in 1941, refers to kits which have a board with blue lines to indicate where to paint. Each area designated by blue lines has a number, which corresponds to a numbered paint color. The kits were first sold in 1951 by Max , based on an idea by Dan. These kits quickly became a national pastime and by 1954. The original slogan was, Every man a Rembrandt! Other companies quickly followed suit, producing their own versions of Paint By Number kits.