If you’ve already sent out your holiday cards, lucky you! I am way behind. Here’s a look at what some artists have done in years past. It’s a relief to see the humor here, it gives me hope that since folks are typically in a jolly mood at the holidays, late cards may be forgiven.
Claes Oldenburg’s card to Samuel Wagstaff, sent around 1965; CLAES OLDENBURG: ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART
Artist Saul Steinberg sent this card to curator Dorothy Miller in 1945. THE SAUL STEINBERG FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK; ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Alexander Calder’s 1929 New Year’s card was signed with his nickname, ‘Sandy.’ At the time he was receiving acclaim in Paris for ‘Cirque Calder’ (1926-1931), a working model circus constructed mainly of wood and wire. 2014 CALDER FOUNDATION, NEW YORK/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS). NEW YORK; ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Elsa Schmid’s 1959 Christmas card to curator Dorothy Miller is a photograph of miniature ceramic mosaic tiles arranged to look like a tree. ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Known for his large, black abstract paintings, Ad Reinhardt shows another skillset here—illustration. At the top is a portrait of himself as a sign painter, the way he started out. On the lower left his first wife toils over a stove, and on the lower right his son Jeb is ‘slaying Goliath.’ 2014 ESTATE OF AD REINHARDT/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS). NEW YORK; ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
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