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William Holbrook Beard

Santa Claus, ca. 1862

Description

Maker

  • William Holbrook Beard, 1824-1900, American

Title

Santa Claus

Year

ca. 1862

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

61.3 x 91.8 cm (24 1/8 x 36 1/8 inches)

Type

  • Paintings

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

42.265

About

For nearly two centuries American artists have derived their descriptions of Santa Claus from Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.” In Moore’s verse, the sober Dutch bishop became “chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,” delivering toys by means of “a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.”
William Holbrook Beard depicted Santa Claus in an urban landscape, riding above rooftops in a sky clouded by coal smoke. He pilots a delicate swan boat drawn by reindeer whose harnesses are deco-rated with silver bells. The choking pollution of 19th-century American cities seems only to heighten the theatrical quality of this remarkable illustration, adding a veil of darkness to the mystery of Christmas Eve

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Projects & Publications

Publications

Selection VII

American Painting from the Museum's Collection, c.1800-1930

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

An American Idyll

April 6, 2007 - January 6, 2008

Selection VII

March 31 - May 8, 1977

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Santa Claus with the accession number of 42.265. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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