Design for a new baby card
Drawing
1960s-1970s (made)
1960s-1970s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is the original artwork for a greeting card to celebrate a new baby. It was designed in the 1960s or 1970s by Marion Wilson for the Gordon Fraser Gallery, a large British card company. The image is built of layers of paint, ballpoint pen and pen and ink to create a painterly effect. However, there are certain indications that this is really a design for a mass produced card. First, the image follows a formula: it shows a baby, christening gown, proud parents, a crib, a teddy bear and a fluffy bunny - all traditional elements of cards for new babies. The background is a soft lilac colour, a blend of the pale pinks and blues associated with newborn babies. These conventions ensure that the card conforms to common notions of infancy and help the customer to distinguish it from other kinds of card in the shop. There are also a number of physical clues that suggest the image has been transferred to print: the centre marks on the mount, traces of adhesive tape, pinholes and stock codes on the reverse. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds one of the many thousands of cards made from this design.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Design for a new baby card (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink, ballpoint pen and watercolour on card |
| Brief description | Design for a greeting card by Marion Wilson, for the Gordon Fraser Gallery, 1960s-1970s |
| Physical description | An illustration in bodycolour, watercolour, pen and ink and ball-point pen on paper, showing a mother, father and baby. On the left the father holds the baby in the the air. The baby wears a long robe and the father wears a tall hat, crowned by a fluffy rabbit. The mother sits on the right, wearing a pink dress and holding a teddy bear. A crib is in the right foreground. The background is purple. Signed at bottom left. The illustration is mounted in an original, painted card mount, bearing centre lines, sellotape marks and pin holes. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Gift of Marion Wilson |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This is the original artwork for a greeting card to celebrate a new baby. It was designed in the 1960s or 1970s by Marion Wilson for the Gordon Fraser Gallery, a large British card company. The image is built of layers of paint, ballpoint pen and pen and ink to create a painterly effect. However, there are certain indications that this is really a design for a mass produced card. First, the image follows a formula: it shows a baby, christening gown, proud parents, a crib, a teddy bear and a fluffy bunny - all traditional elements of cards for new babies. The background is a soft lilac colour, a blend of the pale pinks and blues associated with newborn babies. These conventions ensure that the card conforms to common notions of infancy and help the customer to distinguish it from other kinds of card in the shop. There are also a number of physical clues that suggest the image has been transferred to print: the centre marks on the mount, traces of adhesive tape, pinholes and stock codes on the reverse. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds one of the many thousands of cards made from this design. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.950-2003 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 22, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
