Local color pixel distributions provide information that is useful for object recognition but are dependent on the scene illumination. We develop a method that assigns color descriptors to an object that depend on the distribution of spectral reflectance across the object and not on the illumination. For a trichromatic system, the method assumes a three-dimensional linear model for surface spectral reflectance. We present examples demonstrating the system's ability to recognize model objects in cluttered scenes independent of scene illumination.