  We use a combination of deep optical (gri) and near-infrared (H) photometry
to study the radially-resolved colours of a broad sample of 300 Virgo cluster
galaxies. For most galaxy types, we find that the median g-H colour gradient is
either flat (gas-poor giants and gas-rich dwarfs) or negative (i.e., colours
become bluer with increasing radius; gas-poor dwarfs, spirals, and gas-poor
peculiars). Later-type galaxies typically exhibit more negative gradients than
early-types. Given the lack of a correlation between the central colours and
axis ratios of Virgo spiral galaxies, we argue that dust likely plays a small
role, if at all, in setting those colour gradients. We search for possible
correlations between galaxy colour and photometric structure or environment and
find that the Virgo galaxy colours become redder with increasing concentration,
luminosity and surface brightness, while no dependence with cluster-centric
radius or local galaxy density is detected (over a range of ~2 Mpc and ~3-16
Mpc^-2, respectively). However, the colours of gas-rich Virgo galaxies do
correlate with neutral gas deficiency, such that these galaxies become redder
with higher deficiencies. Comparisons with stellar population models suggest
that these colour gradients arise principally from variations in stellar
metallicity within these galaxies, while age variations only make a significant
contribution to the colour gradients of Virgo irregulars. A detailed stellar
population analysis based on this material is presented in Roediger et al
(2011b; arXiv:1011.3511).
