I eventually settled on a Christmas tree as a central motif for my design. The tree… was profusely decorated with gifts, baubles and tinsel adorning the fronds. – Harold Holdway
Maker: W. T. Copeland & Sons, Designer: Harold Holdway, “Regimental Oak” shape dinner plate with “Christmas Tree” pattern, designed 1938, earthenware, enamel, transfer-printed, enameled, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Stephen Harrison in honor of George Roland, 1997.181
Many of us are familiar with this festive design that has graced our holiday tables for almost eight decades, but do you know the story behind this cheery tree? The image was born in 1938 in Stoke-on-Trent, a charming city in Staffordshire, England known for its pottery industry. Sydney Thompson, the only U.S. based agent for Spode (Copeland & Thompson Inc.) was visiting the factory in hopes of finding a new design for the holiday season. Uninspired by the current seasonal sketches, Harold Holdway, a Spode designer was tasked with producing something truly magical. Holdway’s original design did not include presents until Thompson let him in on a little secret, “in America Christmas gifts, wrapped in gaily-coloured paper and tied with ribbon, were placed at the foot of the tree,” he said. Spode continued to produce Holdway’s iconic design with slight variations until 2009 and it can still be found in stores today!
Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year. We hope your day is merry and bright! – Dallas Museum of Art
Traditionally, the fall and winter holidays are the time when we reach out to family and friends, often with a ubiquitous holiday card, sometimes enclosing new pictures of the family, or a letter trying to stuff in every notable thing anyone in the family has done since the last letter. When I was a kid, we taped the cards we received to a glass door in our living room, and we would try to guess how soon after Thanksgiving we would receive something from that one relative who always sent the first card of the season.
My dad was a graphic designer and had artist friends. Their holiday cards were always my favorites, and I could often guess who sent the card based on its creative style. Finding artists’ holiday cards in the DMA Archives always reminds me of that tradition, so I thought I would share a series of cards by cartoonist Jerry Doyle from the early 1930s.
Doyle family holiday card, c. 1933, from the Jack Nolan Scrapbook
Jerry Doyle (1898-1986) was the editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia Record and Philadelphia Daily News, and was known for his political cartoons about the New Deal and World War II. And, if you are a cartoonist, you create holiday cartoons featuring your family.
Cover of the 1932 Doyle family holiday card, from the Jack Nolan Scrapbook
Inside of the 1932 Doyle family holiday card, from the Jack Nolan Scrapbook
The Doyle family holiday card for the 1931-32 season served the dual purpose of holiday greeting and birth announcement, from the Jack Nolan Scrapbook
You may wonder how the archives came to have holiday cards from a Philadelphia cartoonist. It’s a round-about tale, but makes sense in the end. Doyle sent the holiday greetings to Jack Nolan of Trenton, New Jersey. In 1936, Nolan was employed by Eastman Kodak and worked as a vendor at the Texas Centennial. He kept a scrapbook with ephemera from the Texas Centennial and the Great Lakes Exposition, as well as other traditional scrapbook fare like ticket stubs, invitations, identification cards, newspaper articles, and other small paper items, including the three holiday cards from Jerry Doyle. The archives acquired the scrapbook because of its Texas Centennial connection—the book itself even has a Centennial seal on the cover. I was happy to find that the scrapbook contained cool things that weren’t even related to the Centennial.
With the holiday season in full swing, I’ve taken some liberties with a handful of my favorite yuletide melodies. If you know any Claymation experts who’d be willing to work their magic on a DMA-inspired stop-motion musical, please give me a call. Until then, here are a few remixed holiday songs to celebrate some of the works from our collection.
The Minotaur at C3 (to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”)
You know Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, and Robert Smithson’s
Works in the contemporary collection,
But do you recall
Marcel Dzama’s white minotaur?
The Minotaur at C3
Has a rough and stubby nose.
His face is made of plaster
And it’s covered up with gauze.
Some say he’s funny-looking
‘Cause he only has one arm,
But all the limbs he’s missing Minotaur makes up with charm.
Half a person and half bull,
Sitting in his chair— Minotaur, you’re quite a sight!
Drawing you is a delight.
Now you’re our favorite figure
Found in Greek mythology.
How did you leave your labyrinth?
It’ll stay a mystery.
Tiny clocks, modern clocks, freestanding clocks,
19th- and 17th-century clocks,
Up on the 3rd floor at the Reves Salon
Is William Moore’s clock shaped like a sun.
Ball Wall Clock, Tall Case Clock, Gilbert Rohde’s Clock,
Paul Frankl’s stylish “Telechron” clock,
Check out a print with clock faces to spare
By Fernand Legér.
There’s Untitled (Perfect Lovers) Tick-tocking side by side.
Stephen King and Barbara Kruger
Placed a clock on their book’s front side.
If you ever hope to hear the clocks chime,
You may be out of luck—
So many hands, but so few that tell time
On the DMA’s clocks.
Gilbert Rohde, Herman Miller Clock Company, Inc., Z-clock, 1933, Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, Image courtesy Dallas Museum of Art, 2006.19
George Nelson Associates, Howard Miller Clock Co., “Ball” wall clock, designed 1947, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Alconda-Owsley Foundation in honor of Elizabeth Boeckman, Image Courtesy Dallas Museum of Art, 1994.255
Benjamin Bagnall Sr., Tall case clock, 1730-1745, Dallas Museum of Art, The Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Perot, 1985.B.4
Stephen King, Barbara Kruger, My Pretty Pony, 1988, Dallas Museum of Art, anonymous gift, 1991.96
William Moore, Sun-Shaped Clock, n.d., Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.478
Paul Frankl, Warren Electric Company, “Telechron” mantel clock, designed 1928, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T, Owsley via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation, 1994.8
I Saw A Tiger Licking Its Paws (to the tune of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”)
I saw a tiger licking its paws
After the Museum closed last night.
It didn’t see me peek
Down the Japanese gallery.
It jumped off of its scroll
Into the hall in front of me.
Then, I saw the tiger stretch out its paws,
And let out a roar with all its might.
Oh, I’ve warned everyone I see
But no one else will believe
That the tiger comes alive at night.
Nagasawa Rosetsu, Tiger, after 1792, Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund, 1972.13
Happy holidays!
Paulina Lopez is the McDermott Graduate Intern for Visitor Engagement at the DMA.
It is a throwback Thursday Christmas edition on Uncrated. Re-celebrate The Twelve DMA Days of Christmas from the Uncrated 2011 archives.
We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, we can’t wait to celebrate the New Year at the DMA with an amazing lineup of exhibitions, programs, and more!
“Regimental Oak” shape dinner plate with “Christmas Tree” pattern, Designer: Harold Holdway, 1938, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Stephen Harrison in honor of George Roland
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the DMA Not a painting was stirring–not the Matisse, nor Monet; The Copley portraits were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The staff were busy working away at their desks
On visions of Late Night and art class they obsessed.
When out on the Concourse there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the entrance I flew like a flash,
Past paintings and drawings and statues I dashed.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
Diego Rivera, Peasant Woman, 1946, Dallas Museum of Art, Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Lewis
A bundle of gifts he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his duties.
Fancy new hats for the Soyer shoppe beauties,
A new shell for Vishnu, a rug for the Reves,
And for Ivy in Flower, three sparkling new leaves.
Isaac Soyer, Art Beauty Shoppe, 1934, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Public Works of Art project
Vishnu as Varaha, India, 10th century, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of David T. Owsley Foundation and the Alconda-Owsley Foundation, E. E. Fogelson and Greer Garson Fogelson Fund, General Acquisitions Fund, Wendover Fund, and gift of Alta Brenner in memory of her daughter Andrea Bernice Brenner-McMullen
Reves Salon
A scythe and some seeds for the Vincent van Gogh,
A nice plate of dinner for Fox in the Snow.
Two cozy pillows for the old Gothic bed,
For mantle with condors some lovely new thread.
Gustave Courbet, Fox in the Snow, 1860, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund
Crawford Riddell, Bed, c. 1844, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of three anonymous donors, Friends of the Decorative Arts Fund, General Acquisitions Fund, Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund, and the Boshell Family Foundation
Mantle with condors, Peru, 300-100 B.C., Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in memory of John O’Boyle
From the top floor to the bottom, he silently worked, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk. “No touching the art!” he wisely exclaimed, “Just use your eyes to explore frame by frame.”*
He checked off each artwork on his large museum chart,
Gave a sigh and a nod, “It’s time to depart.”
Berenice Abbot, Untitled (Reindeer), print 1983, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Morton and Marlene Meyerson
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight.
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”
*That Santa–even when he is hard at work, he remembers the Museum rules!
Wishing you and your loved ones a very merry holiday!
Baking cookies is part of my annual holiday tradition, but instead of sharing a recipe this month, I thought it would be fun to do some decorating inspired by our wonderful collection. Some of my colleagues in Education pitched in for this cookie swap of sorts. Check out our edible masterworks and have a very merry holiday season!
Panda cookie made by Stacey Lizotte
Violin-shaped female figure, 1500-500 B.C. (?), Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, The Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus Collection of Fertility Figures
Female figure cookies made by Sarah Coffey
Giovanni Corvaja, designer, “The Golden Fleece” ring, 2008, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Deedie Rose
Five golden rings (!) made by Amy Copeland
Odalisque cookie made by Danielle Schulz
Cathedral cookie made by Liz Bola and Laura Sevelis
Due to Icemegeddon 2013 I am delaying the blog that I originally wanted to compose and instead providing you a glimpse into our lives! I asked my fellow DMA staff members what is on their holiday wishlist. See if this matches your list too!
JC Bigornia, Program Coordinator for the Center for Creative Connections, would love Joni Wilson-Bigornia to gift him a new Lilypad POV Wristband!
Leah Hanson, Manager of Early Learning Programs, is looking for new ideas for making art with kids, and this book by Susan Schwake looks like it could give her all kinds of projects for future classes and summer camp!
Melissa Gonzalez, C3 Gallery Manager, believes that she has “already eaten WAY too much this holiday season, so this cookbook is on my wishlist. I’m eager to learn how to cook healthy seasonal comfort foods. Who knew this was possible?”
Stacey Lizotte, Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services, would love to test out some fragrances before committing to one of them so this Sephora gift set makes a nice present for Stacey.
As for me, I love to read and my eyes are not as strong as they used to be so I would like a new pair of glasses from Warby Parker.
We all have people on our holiday shopping list that are difficult to buy for. That’s why the DMA’s Museum Store has a wide selection of fun and fantastic last-minute gifts. You can cover everyone on your list while treating yourself to a little holiday cheer too. Check out a few gift ideas below, and then come by the Museum Store or visit us online now.
Beaded Bracelets, $18
Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, $24.95
DMA Stainless Steel Water Bottle, $19.95
Eames Messenger Bag & Tablets, $14-$19
Earth T-Shirt, $27
Found Object African Bracelet & Necklace, $64-$90
KidO Magnatab Magnetic Tablet, $32
Master Kitz, $35
Mistura Wooden Timepieces, $225-$275
P’kolino Wooden Puzzles, $34-$40
Pop Top Make-Up Bag, $18
Posters of Paris Candles, $35
Rubber Vase design by Henriette Melchiorsen, $40
This is Texas, This is Paris, This is New York, This is San Francisco, $17.95
As Christmas approaches we wanted to share with you some works from our collection inspired by the song The Twelve Days of Christmas.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me….Yucca and the Prickly Pear
William Lester, "Yucca and the Prickly Pear", 1941, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of A. H. Belo Corporation and The Dallas Morning News
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Love Birds
Ruth L. Guinzburg, "Love Birds", n.d., Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Robert A. Beyers
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me a….Hen
Elwyn Lamar Watson, "Hen", c. 1930, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Emma Downs Green
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me a…Bird-form finial
Zenu culture, "Bird-form finial", c. A.D. 500-1500, Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…”The Golden Fleece” ring
Giovanni Corvaja, "'The Golden Fleece' ring", 2008, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Deedie Rose
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Geese
Reveau Bassett, "Geese", 1915-1933, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Olin H. Travis
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me a…Bridge at Pont-Aven, 1891
Emile Bernard, "Bridge at Pont-Aven, 1891", 1891, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Estate of Ina MacNaughton
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…The Maids
Paula Rego, "The Maids", 1987, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. I. C. Deal
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Ballet Dancers on the Stage
Edgar Degas, "Ballet Dancers on the Stage", 1883, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin B. Bartholow
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me a…Portrait of Lord Lovat
William Hogarth, "Portrait of Lord Lovat", 1746, Dallas Museum of Art, Junior League Print Fund
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me a…Young Man with a Flute
George Romney, "Young Man with a Flute", late 1760s, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Mrs. Sheridan Thompson
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Drum Solos
Brad Tucker, Drum Solos, 2001, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas Artists Fund
Stacey Lizotte is the Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services at the Dallas Museum of Art.
