Holiday spirit returns to Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds this December with vintage Christmas cards

1952 Charles W. Smith (1922-2009) image of a tired Santa

Vintage Christmas Cards by Northwest Artists, 1900s-1990s

Cascadia Art Museum

December 2, 2021 – January 9, 2022

Holiday spirit is returning to Cascadia Art Museum with our annual exhibition of vintage Christmas cards by noted Northwest artists and designers.

For most of the 20th century, regional artists created original works of art to send to their fellow artists, friends and families to celebrate the Holiday Season. The cards were created using an array of mediums such as woodcut and linoleum blocks; etching and drypoints; screenprints, as well as watercolor, oil, collage and other materials.

This collection includes examples by many familiar names as well as some creative individuals now forgotten by time. The earliest card is a 1909 watercolor by John Davidson Butler (1890-1976), given to his parents the same year he exhibited his paintings at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle. 

This card stands in sharp contrast to the unconventional and somewhat bizarre foldout produced by the iconoclastic Seattle architect Robert Reichert (1921-1996) nearly fifty years later. 

Many of the cards reflect the era in which they were created. Most notable is the 1952 Charles W. Smith (1922-2009) image of a tired Santa, resting in a Hardoy chair with a Calder-like mobile hanging from above.

A book featuring many of the cards from our collection is available in the Museum Store.

 
Cascadia Art Museum is an educational, nonprofit organization that celebrates the rich tradition of the visual arts and design in the Northwest during the period 1860-1970.

It is located at 190 Sunset Ave S , Edmonds, WA 98020. 
Open Thursday – Sunday: 11:00pm - 5:00pm.