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Celebrating one of the most far-reaching traditions in public art delivery, the accompanying exhibition represents the first jazz-themed survey of postage-stamp art design ever assembled, and showcases the portraits of numerous, leading figures from throughout the history of American music and literature, as well as highlights delightful and humorous illustrations that will forever embody the spirit of an era.
Keeping within the clearly defined standards of the Postal Service, artists who create original images for use as stamp designs are restricted to a canvas no larger than four times the size of the final, printed stamp, yet their work enjoys one of the most extensive audiences possible, throughout the U.S. and around the world, and each represents a true masterpiece in miniature.
Combining with the hundreds of works created exclusively as stamp designs, many postage-stamp images are also created as smaller-scale versions of previous works by renowned illustrators and graphic artists involved in the fields of commercial advertising, journalism, and publishing, or they are realized as new interpretations of classic images previously created from fields such as motion pictures and photography.
In the accompanying portrait of legendary American composer, conductor, and pianist Leonard Bernstein, this timeless,
2001 postage-stamp issue brings the viewer a remarkable sense of intimacy, and highlights a much
beloved figure whose mastery of symphonic, ballet, theatrical, and jazz idioms has inspired millions. In 1958,
becoming the first, American-born conductor appointed to the position of music director of the renowned
New York Philharmonic, Bernstein's insight into the creative language of American jazz continues to
remain a central part of his rich body of work.
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First published as the cover illustration for a 1927
issue of "McClure's" magazine, this 1998 postage-stamp
issue displays the insightful brand of humor that immortalized
artist John Held Jr. as one of the preeminent visual artists
of his day. More than any other illustrator, painter,
or photographer of his time, Held's images will serve
to forever depict the unmistakable spirit and freedom
of the "jazz age." Originally entitled "The Blues," for
the McClure's publication, this 1998 stamp issue is referred
to by the more descriptive title of "Flappers Do The Charleston,"
but Held's trademark style remains the same.
Born in 1889, and with his work appearing in leading publications
such as "Vanity Fair" magazine as early as 1915, it was
the flapper-style illustrations of Held, as seen in the
accompanying stamp-image, that would establish his position
as one of the most in-demand illustrators of the 1920s.
Featured in nearly every major publication of the day,
including "Harpers Bazaar," "Redbook,"
"Life," "Vanity Fair," "Colliers,"
"The New Yorker," and many others, the free-spirited
characters incorporated throughout the illustrations of
John Held Jr. were looked upon by younger audiences as
the role and style models of the time, while older readers
found Held's reliably humoristic portrayals as a somewhat
comforting chronicle of the ever-widening gap between
themselves and the younger generation.
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In the accompanying portrait of legendary composer and saxophonist John Coltrane, the stamp image created by painter
Dean Mitchell represents a remarkable rendering of the dichotomy between Coltrane's quiet, personal
demeanor and his more explosively rebellious character, and provides a striking view of one of the most influential
figures in jazz history.
Commissioned as one of ten stamp-image portraits
for the 1995 "Jazz Musician's Issue" of the Postal
Service's "Legends of American Music Series," this
timeless image is part of a tradition dating back
more than one-hundred-and-fifty years. From the
time of the earliest stamp issues (in 1847), their
designs have featured portraits of indisputable
legends from throughout the history of America.
Continuing that tradition today, the personalities
of American musical legends have become a part of
an ever-expanding gallery commemorating both the
profound events and the legendary figures from the
story of a nation. The twelve jazz-themed designs
selected for this exhibition provide the viewer
with a brief introduction to that rich body of images
and represent not only definitive, historic artifacts,
but also highly imaginative and illuminating works
of American art.
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