Series VII. Original Artwork: ca. 1898-1944

SERIES VII. Original Artwork: ca. 1898-1944 (3 special format boxes; .75 linear feet) contains a small amount of material created by Christy, primarily undated and organized into three subseries.  Subseries 1. Sketches and Drawings houses individual works of art, primarily in pencil but also in ink and watercolor.  Some of these sheets appear to have been torn from sketchbooks, others simply executed on single sheets of paper.  These sketches and drawings have been arranged into three groups: figures, landscapes and objects, and works by other artists (arranged alphabetically by name). Some sketches resemble other large-scale Christy works and may have been created as studies for later posters, illustration, paintings, or program covers.  Subseries 2. Sketchbooks includes eight individual sketchbooks of varying sizes. The earliest and most noteworthy contains sketches from the Spanish-American War, produced most likely as a result of his magazine commissions, and dates ca. 1898.  Another important early sketchbook features sketches for Christy’s World War I posters and dates ca. 1915.  The remaining sketchbooks involve topics such as the Foster Memorial, animals, opera costumes, and miscellaneous illustration.  Because the bindings of these sketchbooks are in such fragile condition, each volume has been wrapped in acid-free paper and tied to keep them intact.  Sketchbooks are labeled and stored flat within the same box.  Subseries 3. Paintings contains two small-scale oil paintings on canvas stored flat in the same box.  One is entitled “Peace Be – Unto You” and the other remains unknown.  Both appear to be very rough studies for larger works.