Stamps for gardeners — and art lovers

I recently received a card which carried the wonderful Lunar New Year postage stamp pictured above. With its floral motif, red ground and touch of gold, I thought a sheet of them — framed — would be perfect in my red room. So I dashed off to the post office to buy a set. And then went to another branch and another with no success. You may have better luck, but I was definitely too late.

I did, however, spot a new issue that I picked up instead. On March 11, in Buffalo, NY, the US Postal Service issued a 44–cent, Abstract Expressionists commemorative stamp (the full sheet is pictured below). Accord to the Post Office:

In celebration of the abstract expressionist artists of the 20th Century, Art Director Ethel Kessler and noted Art Historian Jonathan Fineberg (Gutgsell Professor Art History, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign) selected ten paintings to feature on this colorful pane of self–adhesive stamps. Kessler used elements from Barnett Newman’s Achilles (1952) to frame the stamps. The arrangement of the stamps suggests paintings hanging on a gallery wall. For design purposes, the sizes of the stamp are not in relative proportion to the paintings. The panel also features selvage text and a quotation by Robert Motherwell. Each stamp includes the artist’s name and verso text that identifies the painting and briefly tells something about the artist.

The ten artists and their paintings are:

Hans Hofmann (1880–1966): The Golden Wall (1961)

Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974): Romanesque Façade (1949)

Mark Rothko (1903–1970): Orange and Yellow (1956) 

Arshile Gorky (1904–1948): The Liver Is the Cock’s Comb (1944)

Clyfford Still (1904–1980): 1948–C (1948)

Willem de Kooning (1904–1997): Asheville (1948)

Barnett Newman (1905–1970): Achilles (1952)

Jackson Pollock (1912–1956): Convergence (1952)

Robert Motherwell (1915–1991): Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 34 (1953–1954)

Joan Mitchell (1925–1992): La Grande Vallée 0 (1983)  

Mark and I both believe that the art you grow up with, the images that catch your attention when you first seriously look at art, are the ones that stay with you. They are your first, your true loves.

For us, that's the Abstract Expressionists. And for me in particular, it's Motherwell's "Elegy No. 34." The Gorky, Pollock, Rothko and Motherwell are all from Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the gallery where I grew up — my first loves and still treasured friends. And as a result, I know that arranging these paintings salon style, the way they appear on the page of stamps, is impossible in real life. These babies are huge: The Pollock is about 8' x 13' while the Motherwell is a good 6 and 1/2' x 8'. 

But that's just quibbling. I am thrilled to see this wonderful group of artists and paintings get the attention they deserve.

Comments

[Nicole]

I have a pane of the flower stamps - do you want me to send you a few stamps?

[Lisa at Greenbow]

I tried to get some of those New Year Stamps shortly after they were issued. They were snapped up quickly. I haven't seen the second set. They are exciting.

[Altoon]

I saw the Ab Ex stamps this past weekend at my Art Group meeting. They are fantastic. My small town post office doesn't usually have interesting commemorative stamps, so I'll have to go online to the USPS website to buy some panes.

[style court]

Can't believe I missed this. So wish they had included Lee Krasner but still looking forward to seeing the Hans Hofmann and the Rothko on my envelopes.