Smart Art For A Small Space
John G. Sayers

Figure 1: The old and the new, a thoughtful work.
When I refer to art for a small space, I’m not referring to a tiny Suzor-Côté hanging in the smallest room of your home. And I’m not describing a wall full of 6x10-inch Emily Cars. Think smaller. Think more economically. Think of postcards with world-class art that will let you create the equivalent of an entire gallery in one or two three-ring binders.

Figure 2: Cassier’s signature enlarged.
When I refer to art for a small space, I’m not referring to a tiny Suzor-Côté hanging in the smallest room of your home. And I’m not describing a wall full of 6x10-inch Emily Cars. Think smaller. Think more economically. Think of postcards with world-class art that will let you create the equivalent of an entire gallery in one or two three-ring binders.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me take you on a tour of part of my imagi-nary Smart Art Gallery of postcards – all of which will fit in a 3-ring binder, with room to spare for more. There is no such thing as ‘one artist suits all’. Each person has their own individual taste – and their individual design and colour preferences - so let’s start in the corner of the imaginary Smart Art Gallery that has postcard images of a nautical theme from the Red Star Line.

Figure 3: A fond farewell.
(Figure 1) is a soft image of the old and the new, with a sailing ship in the foreground and a relatively modern ocean liner (relative because the card dates to 1909) in the background. This is by Cassiers, a highly-regarded artist who did a considerable amount of work for the corporate community. On some of these cards you have to look carefully for a signature, and even then you might find it hard to read, as the signature shows in (Figure 2).

(Figure 3) is still nautical, but stronger yet much more poignant, as the beautiful woman on the dock waves au revoir to her loved one sailing away on the ship. The colour is black and grey, with just enough of a touch of red to highlight the figure. Unsigned, but not all artists sign their work.

Figure 4: A middle-eastern gem.
On the other hand, if you like elegant but perhaps slightly erotic work, and definitely un-nautical, a third card from the Red Star Line in the 1920s blazes new frontiers in art (Figure 4). One of a series of at least 9 such drawings in a range of powerful colours, this is one of my favorites. It’s got memories of Art Nouveau, but the colours and the style also look ahead transitionally to the Art Deco period.

“Yes,” you’ll say, “But they’re so small. How do I show them off to my friends?” The answer with today’s technology is surprisingly simple – take them to your local office supply store and ask them to make an enlargement for you. You can enlarge to 2 feet by 3 feet if you want, for a price that won’t overburden your credit card. And the printing is generally so good that you don’t lose any noticeable amount of image quality. You can frame the result, or consider dry mounting it. We have a charming dry-mounted Christmas design on our mantle at that time of year, blown up from a postcard.

Figure 5: Desert scene, promoting cruising.
Let’s move on to another part of the compact Smart Art Gallery. If you’re captivated by desert scenes, how about this one which is simple but striking (Figure 5). Produced by the Hamburg-America Line, this image underscores the fact that even in the early 1900s they had cruises to all corners of the globe. Tucked into an acid-free sleeve in a binder, and maybe also blown up and framed to enhance the theme of a room in your home, this is a great picture.

Figure 6: A pen-and-ink sketch by Rosenvinge.
And if you like pen-and-ink drawings, this 1930s work by Odin Rosenvinge right beside it in the galley (Figure 6) is a compelling harbor image which is also a study of the dock workers and their setting. Cunard used these cards to picture several of their ships. Rosenvinge is a recognized marine artist, but this card will cost you a whole lot less than bidding on a Jacobsen.

Figure 7: Daibutsu, Kamakura, Japan.
But themes aren’t limited to European and North American topics. In another corner of the Smart Art Gallery (i.e. the next section in the binder!), there’s art focused on the Orient. From the 1930s, it’s an image of the famous Daibutsu, at Kamakura, Japan (Figure 7). To buy an image like this you won’t have to sit in an auction room hearing the auctioneer chanting “Nineteen hundred…Do I hear two thousand?” More specifically, the penciled price on the back of this card, purchased within the last couple of years at the Toronto Postcard Show, is one dollar! It should have been more, but only closer to ten dollars rather than to upwards of ten thousand that you might be bidding for a large painting.

Let’s move on to other styles. If you’re into art for a children’s room, instead of a hockey player by Ken Danby how about the sweet exhortation in (Figure 8) to “Keep on smiling”? This work is a 1950s postcard image by iconic and highly collected British artist Mabel Lucie Attwell. Whether in a corner of your binder, or blown up and framed in a room, it’s still the type of art that brightens even the glummest winter day.

Figure 8: A Mabel Lucie Attwell, to brighten your day.
Landscapes are also available. Not a Constable or a Turner perhaps, but this dark, brooding and mysterious 1906 scene (Figure 9) of Mount Burgess, Emerald Lake near Field, B.C., painting un-signed but published by Valentine & Sons, is as Canadian as the Mounties, maple syrup, and Tim Horton’s Coffee.

Figure 9: Emerald Lake, near Field, B.C.
That brings us to the end of your imaginary tour. In a real gallery tour, you might then be treated to a delightful glass of wine while you contemplate your art opportunities. At the end of our imaginary tour, you can either have an imaginary glass of wine, or get up and pour one of your own as you contem-plate acquiring smart art – for a small space.

John G. is a member of the Executive of the Toronto Postcard Club and the Board of The Ephemera Society of America. Mr. Sayers can be reached at jasayers@saybuck.com. All illustrations are from The Sayers Collection.