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

Editor: This piece is a "Happy New Year" card from the New Years 1890 series by Kinney Brothers. It looks like a print, perhaps using colored pencils. It's a very odd little image - whimsical but slightly unsettling! What's your read on it? Curator: Note the highly stylized composition, Editor. Consider how the forms are constructed. Observe the bee-child juxtaposed against the solar entity. Notice also the limited, soft color palette and the precise linework throughout. What significance might we derive from these aesthetic decisions? Editor: Well, the colours are gentle, almost faded, which lends it an antique feel, even before knowing the date. And the lines...everything is quite delineated, precise. I suppose that adds to that slightly unsettling feeling, everything clearly defined in this strange scene. Curator: Precisely. There's a certain graphic clarity here, reminiscent of contemporaneous poster design. Furthermore, the use of colour plays an integral role in guiding the viewer’s gaze and establishing compositional balance. Let's look closer. The linear design, the use of these forms to signify a New Year celebration. Do we find it successful or is there an irresolvable disjunction at its heart? Editor: It definitely leaves an impression, even if it's strange. I appreciate how analyzing its structure makes me see the choices that create that effect. Curator: Indeed. Close attention to its inherent qualities illuminates the design and its singular appeal.