Hammer Museum

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

No holiday celebration is complete without desserts! Everyone has heard of figgy pudding, which makes an appearance in the English Christmas Carol, “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.” Figgy pudding is actually an English Christmas cake made with nutmeg, cinnamon, and, of course, figs. Try the American classic and common gift, the fruitcake, which is filled with candied fruits, nuts, and alcohol. Gingerbread, which is not only construction material for houses and small people, is also a great material for a Christmas cake. The Yule log, or Buche de Noël, is a French roll cake which is decorated to look like a fire log. There are countless cake options for the holidays. This year, consider a whole meal of desserts?

 Daniel Socha, A Prune Cake Delight, 1968. Color lithograph. Sheet: 23 1/8 x 31 1/2 in. (58.8 x 80 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Gift of the UCLA Art Council.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

The traditional English Christmas carol “The First Noel” is about the first Christmas, yet the word takes on different meanings throughout the song.

This word “noel” has multiple meanings and origins. The Latin word “natalis” means the birth of Christ, and it is possible that the English carols uses this root of the word, “noel.” This seasonal word could also originate from the Old French “noel” which means “the Christmas season.” This meaning of the word is still in use, since French speakers say “Joyeux Noël ,” which translates to “Merry Christmas.” There is a third meaning of the word “noel” which has origins in England and means, “a Christmas carol.”

Ready for this? “The First Noel” is a noel (Christmas carol), sung during noel (the Christmas season), is about a noel (the first Christmas carol) celebrating Noel (the birth of Christ). Whew!

 Gerda Becker With, Untitled (Christmas Card with angel), 1959. Card. Sheet: 8 1/8 x 16 1/2 in. (20.7 x 41.9 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

Artist Ernest Fierce, hails from Woodstock, New York. His lithograph Winter Morning is most likely a depiction of a New York Christmas rather than a Los Angeles Christmas. In L.A., temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to snow. When it is 60 degrees, it is officially cold in L.A. 50 degree weather merits heavy jackets. And in 40 degree weather, many Native Angelenos don’t even bother going outside.

Did you know it used to occasionally snow in L.A.? During a legendary snowstorm on January 10, 1949, it snowed for three full nights. Temperatures dropped from the lower 30s to the upper 20s. For a few days, children and adults traded their surfboards to play in the snow and live out their winter wonderland dreams. Do you think L.A. looked like this during those few days in 1949? Maybe with snow-covered palm trees?

 Ernest Fiene, Winter Morning, 1937. Lithograph. Image: 8 1/4 x 12 5/16 in. (21 x 31.3 cm) Sheet: 11 7/8 x 16 in. (30.2 x 40.6 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” seven of the gifts given are birds: the partridge in a pear tree, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, geese-a-laying, and swans-a-swimming. It is even argued that the “five golden rings” that the singer receives on the fifth day refers to a ring-necked pheasant, rather than jewelry. 

Birds often appear on Christmas cards and make appearances as Christmas tree ornaments and in many Christmas songs. So if you are stumped on what to give your love for Christmas, try a bird this year!

 Utagawa Hiroshige, Sparrows and "sasanka" in snow, 1835-1840. Full-color woodcut. Image: 13 x 4 5/16 in. (33 x 11 cm). Collection for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

Many cultures celebrate the holiday season with elaborate feasts. In Sicily, Sicilians feast on seafood during what they call “The Feast of the Seven Fishes.” Germans celebrate with big feasts of roast goose, dumplings, red cabbage and stollen, which is a holiday bread with dried fruits. The French “réveillon,” which translates to “long dinner,” features luxurious seafood such as oysters, langoustines, and foie gras. A Swedish Christmas feast is called a “Julbord,” which is a smorgasbord of herring, ham, meatballs, sausages, bread, cheese, and cabbage. Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania all celebrate with a traditional 12-dish spread of herring, sauerkraut, mushrooms and dumplings. And in Poland, it is common to eat borscht with mushrooms, which is festive and red. On Noche Bueno, or Christmas Eve, Cubans feast on a whole roast pig. Are you planning a feast for the holidays? 

 Nicolaes de Bruyn, After David Vinckboons, The Feast in the Forest, 1601. Engraving. Plate: 17 1/4 x 25 3/4 in. (43.8 x 65.4 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.  

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

Buddy the Elf in the holiday movie classic, Elf, eloquently says, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Singing, listening to, and playing Christmas music is one of the best ways to celebrate the holiday season. Each year there are disagreements as to when it is acceptable to start playing Christmas music. Is it after Thanksgiving? Or as early as the day after Halloween? Music is essential to the holiday season, and it has been this way for many years. Christmas music started in Europe, in the form of hymns in the Catholic tradition, and Christmas carols gained popularity in the 13th century. Christmas music was at first only sacred music, but in the Middle Ages, Christmas music began to be composed for celebration rather than worship. Christmas carols were (and still are) the most common form of Christmas music since they tell the story of Christmas which is more interesting, and easier to understand through music. Throughout the centuries, the repertoire of Christmas music kept growing, which would include carols and instrumental pieces.

This drawing of a man playing a violin was created by Lithuanian artist Boris Deutsch. We cannot say what the man is playing, but we can only hope that he is playing a tune like “Deck the Halls” or “Jingle Bells” to get into the holiday spirit. 

 Boris Deutsch, Untitled (Violin Player), 1927. Conté crayon. Sheet: 20 1/8 x 17 1/8 in. (51.1 x 43.5 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jo Swerling.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

Deer have been a part of the holiday tradition for centuries. We are most familiar with the reindeer, who are famous for leading Santa’s sleigh. Everyone knows the Christmas icon and “most famous reindeer of all,” Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. But it is lesser known that deer were part of the holiday tradition long before Rudolph went down in history. In the Shaman and Pagan Christmas tradition, a female reindeer is the goddess of the winter solstice. She leads and protects herds, and she keeps her horns unlike other female deer. She is also referred to as a life-giver and a mother-earth figure. Before Rudolph’s rise to fame, a deer goddess was a female Christmas figure who represented power and protection. 

 Woodrow Wilson Crumbo, Deer and Snow, 20th century. Etching and aquatint. Plate: 5 1/2 x 4 in. (14 x 10.2 cm) Sheet: 7 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (18.4 x 15.9 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

Happy holidays from the Hammer Museum! Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing holiday-themed artworks for the #HammerHolidays.

In many places around the world, it is special to see green plants and trees during the winter. In early Pagan traditions, green plants were used to ward off evil spirits. In fact, many ancient civilizations including the Egyptians and the Early Romans used green plants, specifically Evergreen boughs, as protection and good luck charms throughout the holidays.

It is said that in the 16th century Germans originated the tradition of the Christmas tree when they brought already-decorated Christmas trees into their homes during the holiday season. Father of the Reformation, Martin Luther, was the first one to put lights or candles on the Christmas tree, after he was inspired by gazing at stars through the trees.

German immigrants brought this tradition to America, yet it took years for Americans to adopt this holiday custom. New England Pilgrim governor, William Bradford, and English Lord Protectorate, Oliver Cromwell, banned the Christmas tree in their respective reigns, deeming it too pagan and heathen to be a part of their sacred holiday.

Christmas trees finally became a popular in mid-19th century England when Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert accepted and encouraged this now-popular Christmas tradition. After the English, the Americans started buying and decorating Christmas trees. Americans donned their trees with traditional, homemade ornaments imported from Germany, while the Germans still decorated theirs using fruits, popcorn, and cookies. The Americans decorated large, ceiling-high Christmas trees, while Europeans decorated smaller, more modest trees. With the later invention of Christmas lights, Christmas trees were on display in homes and in public places. After centuries of being a controversial custom, the Christmas tree finally became the holiday icon as we know it today.

 Attributed to Evariste Vital Luminais, Study of a Tree, 1822-1896. Crayon and chalk. Sheet: 11 15/16 x 8 15/16 in. (30.3 x 22.7 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

This week’s #NotOnView selection is a celebration of Hanukkah, which began last night.

Fritz Eichenberg, Chanukah, ca. 1950-1955 (1976). Wood engraving. 5 x 4 in. (12.7 x 10.2 cm). Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.

Happy 4th of July! The museum is closed today, but we'll be back in action tomorrow. Corita Kent, Flag Of My Home, 1976. Screen print. Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Corita Kent Bequest.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Georg Schrimpf, Mother with Child (Mutter mit Kind), ca. 1915. Woodcut. Collection UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley I. Talpis.

To all those celebrating, have a wonderful Hanukkah!

Fritz Eichenberg. Chanukah, ca. 1950-1955. Wood engraving. Image: 5 x 4 in. (12.7 x 10.2 cm); Sheet: 9 1/2 x 8 in. (24.1 x 20.3 cm). Collection Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum.