Weekend, December 24-25, 2022 – SEASONAL ARTWORK FROM THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
THE RIHS VISITOR CENTER KIOSK WILL BE OPEN ON SATURDAY, DEC. 24TH FROM 12 NOON TO 5 P.M. FOR LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY SHOPPING.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WEEKEND, Dec. 24-25, 2022
THE 869th EDITION
HOLIDAY ART
FROM THE
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN
ART MUSEUM
Grandma Moses, Christmas, 1958, oil and tempera on pressed wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charles Nelson Brower in memory of Charles H. and Elizabeth N. Brower, 2015.49, © Grandma Moses Properties
Grandma Moses painted many winter scenes of farm life in which adults and children happily do their chores and play in the snow. She painted only cheerful images that were based on her memories of growing up on a farm and of being a farmwife herself. In this painting the people talking and laughing together evoke a nostalgic ideal of community life, which the artist emphasized through small stylized buildings and bright colors. The buildings and looping fences create a two-dimensional pattern on the pure white snow that underscores the picturesque, storybook scene.
Edward B. Webster, The Nativity, 1956, oil on canvas mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1971.91
The Nativity is one of twenty-two paintings depicting the life of Christ done by Edward Webster over a span of twenty years (Hall, “Postman to Painter,” Sepia, Dec. 1971). The infant is the focal point of the scene, as the light from the star spotlights him through the wooden roof. The three Magi, freshly arrived from the East, leave their camels and rush toward the stable to share in this moment. The animals bow their heads and focus on the child as if they, too, recognize the solemnity of the event. The painting’s composition mimics that of a stage performance: the artist left a space between Joseph and the Magi for the viewer to participate in the scene; our view of the stable’s interior and the goings-on outside are completely unobstructed. The expressive figures and dramatic lighting enhance this theatrical effect.
Edward Penfield, Harper’s Christmas, ca.1898, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1974.6
Harry Cimino, Christmas Card, n.d., woodcut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Charlotte Manzari, 1969.31.32
Werner Drewes, The Christmas Letter, 1962, color woodcut on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Wolfram U. Drewes, Harald Drewes and Bernard W. Drewes, 1990.105.16
Juan González, The Nativity, 1662, oil on wood inlaid with mother of pearl, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.48
Ernest W. Watson, Christmas Morning, 1947, color linoleum cut on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.193
Abraham Rattner, Window Cleaner, watercolor, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Abraham Rattner, 1981.153.24
- Abrasha, Hanukkah Menorah, 1995, fabricated stainless steel, sterling silver, and 24k gold, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and the artist in memory of the artist’s father, Solomon David Staszewski, 1996.36A-J, © 1995, Abrasha
- The Hanukkah Menorah has eight branches of equal height and a ninth, taller branch for the shamash, or “servant light,” used to light the others. The Hanukkah holiday commemorates the rededication of the Hebrew Temple of Jerusalem after it was destroyed by the Syrians in 165 BC. Abrasha’s menorah conforms to Jewish law by burning wicks in olive oil instead of candles. Hinges allow the piece to be arranged in different ways, and the gold, silver, and stainless steel provide a play of different colors under the light of the wicks.
“My work now is contemporary, geometric, and simple in style and feeling … I usually combine two or three different materials to create tension between them and their colors in my designs.” Artist quoted in American Craft Museum Catalogue, 1992
WEEKEND PHOTO OF THE DAY
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Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
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