Spectrum #8: Order these paintings by when they were painted — the solution

The Spectrum puzzle from August 22, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.

The puzzle

Order these paintings by when they were painted, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:

1. Campbell's Soup Cans
2. Girl with a Pearl Earring
3. The Persistence of Memory
4. The Starry Night
5. Mona Lisa
6. The Scream

Girl with a Pearl Earring was already in place; Campbell's Soup Cans opened 5 places from home.

The walkthrough

The ends first. Mona Lisa is the earliest of the six at 1503 and Campbell's Soup Cans the latest at 1962. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.

Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) and The Starry Night (1889) — 224 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.

The closest call. The Starry Night (1889) and The Scream (1893) are only 4 years apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.

The answer

Previous: Spectrum #7 (Fri, Aug 21) · Next: Spectrum #9 (Sun, Aug 23)

About Spectrum

Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.