"Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, The Petersens"
Object NamePrint
Artist / Maker
Christian Petersen
(Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)
Originu.s.a.
MediumLinocut printed in blue ink on paper
Dimensions4 1/4 x 5 7/8 in. (10.8 x 14.9 cm)
ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates
Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Mary Petersen by the Christian Petersen Memorial Fund. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object numberum92.193
Status
Not on viewCollections
Label TextThis family Christmas card probably dates from 1941, just after the December 7th attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor propelled America into World War II. Petersen depicts himself at work on a sculpture of the globe when suddenly two explosions issue from it, throwing him back in a pose of surprise and alarm. His wife, Charlotte, and his daughter, Mary, stand nearby sharing his astonishment as they gaze at an embattled world. The explosions are positioned on either side of the earth, perhaps to represent the two theaters of war: Europe and the Pacific.
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Christian Petersen Art Museum
Object Name: Block for linocut
Christian Petersen
c. 1941
Object number: UM99.290
Object Name: Christmas cards
Sackett & Wilhelms Lithographing & Printing Co.
Object number: UM80.14ab
Object Name: Print
Amy Namowitz Worthen
2007
Object number: UM2007.231
Object Name: Drypoint
Jay Norwood Darling
Object number: UM84.167
