Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from the New Years 1890 series (N227) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889 - 1890

Editor: This piece is titled "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from the New Years 1890 series," made by Kinney Bros. Tobacco Company around 1889-1890. It's a coloured pencil drawing printed on paper. What immediately grabs me is the odd pairing of figures; one old and the other youthful, a peculiar way to celebrate the New Year! How do you read the composition and structure of this piece? Curator: The formal arrangement offers some intriguing contrasts. Notice how the seated figure on the left, "Dame Nature", is rendered with strong vertical lines in her chair, juxtaposed with the circular forms of her figure, particularly the spectacles and the hairstyle, creating a sense of containment, contrasting the open space that surrounds the child on the right who is holding a sphere. The tonal range, light to dark, helps give emphasis to Dame Nature as being substantial and looming. Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn’t considered the contrast in lines and shapes as a dialogue. The dark verticality and substantial looming that is "Dame Nature", versus the more approachable youthful New Year's baby! So, does this indicate some sort of visual thesis? Curator: Precisely. The artist uses a visual binary opposition to reinforce the symbolic hand-off. Is the child actually surrendering time as Dame Nature passes recommendation? Look also at the subtle art nouveau curves in the lettering. They repeat the curved figure of the child to add more symmetry to the piece, and connect to Dame Nature's "all seeing eye" spectactle and halo hair. Editor: Oh, wow, I didn't catch the echoed curvatures! It really brings the whole design together. It seems less haphazard now. I guess considering shapes, forms, lines, color relationships and symmetry are truly gateways to decoding meaning, as well. Thank you. Curator: Indeed. A deep look at form is frequently rewarded.