Christmas Card (Third Prize Winner of Louis Prang's Christmas Card Competition, 1881)
In 1881, L. Prang & Company, the leading printer and publisher of chromolithographs in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century, held their second annual Christmas card design competition. Charles Caryl Coleman, a leading artist of the Aesthetic Movement, won third prize for his painting of a still life of decorative objects representing various cultural traditions set within an interior that also bears the evidence of diverse aesthetic influences. Coleman’s design relates to his painting Apple Blossoms of 1889, also in the collection of The Met (1996.102). Prang reproduced the design as a multi-color lithograph and included a poem by Celia Thaxter on the back, along with a caption declaring Coleman as the winner of a $500 award for his submission. The card is decorated with silk fringe in gradations of yellow, orange, and red along its four edges, and a no-longer existing string at the top would have allowed recipients of the card to hang it on the walls of their home or on their Christmas tree.
Artwork Details
- Title: Christmas Card (Third Prize Winner of Louis Prang's Christmas Card Competition, 1881)
- Artist: Charles Caryl Coleman (American, Buffalo, New York 1840–1928 Capri, Italy)
- Printer: Louis Prang & Co. (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Publisher: Louis Prang & Co. (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Date: 1881
- Medium: Lithograph with silk fringe, embossed metal foil
- Dimensions: Image: 10 1/4 × 8 1/4 in. (26 × 21 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ephemera
- Credit Line: Gift of Paul Jeromack, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.469.2
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.