Cover Study

© Estate of the artist. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproductio…
Cover Study
© Estate of the artist. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproduction or publication.

Cover Study

Date1942
Artist (American painter and illustrator, 1876–1953)
Illustration CitationThe Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore (Chicago: John J. Winston Co., 1942)
MediumWatercolor and ink on board mounted to book
Dimensions10 1/4 × 8 1/4 in. (26 × 21 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Titus Geesey in memory of Titus C. Geesey, 1972
Object number1972-75
On View
On view
ClassificationsBOOK
Label TextTo plan his 1942 edition of The Night Before Christmas, Everett Shinn produced a mock-up with several original watercolors in an empty sketchbook. He probably shared this with the publisher for feedback on his designs. The watercolors in this mock-up are similar, but not identical, to the published version. What differences do you see?

For this book Shinn employed a style reminiscent of children's illustrated literature of the turn of the 20th century.