Merry 120th Christmas, Gustaf!

I would like to wish all readers of this blog a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What better illustration is there than this great painting from Opal Wheeler's compilation of Christmas Carols from 1943: "Sing for Christmas".

Illustration for "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" from
"Sing for Christmas" by Opal Wheeler.
E.P. Dutton & Company, New York 1943.

The book may have been planned as a sequel to the much appreciated "Favorite Hymns" by Inez Bertail from 1941. A Swede of origin, Gustaf Tenggren still has skillfully captured the very special spirit of the Anglo-Saxon type of Christmas. Already in 1936, 16 years after his arrival in USA, Tenggren had became a naturalized citizen, and his illustrations had continuously grown more and more American.

Cover for "Sing for Christmas"

His interpretation was indeed as convincing as to result in yet another song book by Opal Wheeler the year after: "Sing for America" was a collection of patriotic songs that proved that Tenggren had thoroughly managed to grasp the sentiment of American cultural heritage, and to a degree that made him seem even more patriotic than the Americans themselves. 

Cover for "Sing for America" by Opal Wheeler.
E.P. Dutton & Company, New York 1944.