52 fur. He also had the now standard long white beard. The caption is: “White Rock Ginger Ale.” The ad is from inside the back cover of the December 13, 1923 issue of Life magazine. [Life was a New York periodical born January 4, 1883 as a general-interest light entertainment magazine, heavy on illustrations, jokes, and social commentary. The magazine lasted 53 years until Henry Luce, publisher of Fortune and Time, bought it in 1936. It was, at that time, turned into a news picture magazine that many of us today can remember.] 1924: In December 1924, the White Rock Mineral Spring Company used another ad featuring Santa Claus [Figure 22]. In it Santa is once again dressed in the traditional garb of red with white trim and sporting a full white beard. As in the 1923 ad there is a bottle of White Rock Mineral Water and bottle of spirits by its side on a table. The typical toys for children are piled on the floor. The caption reads: “White Rock is the leading mineral water. White Rock ginger ale is [also] very good.” 1925: Their ad for December 1925 [Figure 23] features Santa sitting on a bench beside an empty sack. He appears tired from his annual trip. An open bottle of mineral water sits beside him. He is shown wiping the sweat from his brow and there is an open icebox with several bottles of White Rock inside. The caption: “White Rock is the leading mineral water – also White Rock PALE DRY ginger ale.” Santa is wearing the red suit trimmed in white. His red white-fur-trimmed hat is on the top of the refrigerator. The Coca-Cola Company Haddon Sundblom (1899-1976) Haddon Hubert “Sunny” Sundblom [Figure 24] is the artist best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company from 1931-1964 (33 years). Sundblom was born in Muskegon, Michigan to a Swedish-speaking 24
November-December 2007
Bottles and Extras Contemporary artists who paint Santa Claus
28 immigrant family. Of all the Coca-Cola Santas Sundblom painted for Coke, the following are some of his most popular: Figures 25 (1931 – his first); 26 (1945); 27 (1956); 28 (1961); 29 (1963); and 30 (1964 – his last). The urban legend that Sundblom is the man most responsible for Santa Claus as we visualize him today can easily be declared false. The image of Santa has changed gradually from those of Thomas Nast in the mid-1800s to those of today’s illustrators. [Those American artists who drew and painted the advertisements of Santa Claus were famous for other artwork. Haddon Sundblom, is a good example, he created the image of the Quaker Oats man in 1957. Another of Sundblom’s famous creations for the Coca-Cola was the Sprite Boy (1942). The Sprite Boy wore either a soda jerk’s cap to promote fountain sales or a bottle cap to advertise bottled Coca-Cola. In the mid-1930s, he began to paint pin-up and glamour pieces for calendars. And Sundblom’s last assignment promoting Coca-Cola was in 1972. It was a cover painting of a pretty blonde woman for Playboy’s Christmas issue (Figure 31).] With his death in 1976 came an end the era of “The Soda Pop Santas” (19151972). [Coke still uses Santa in some of its Christmas ads hence a new crop of contemporary graphic artists who portray Santa holding a glass or bottle of Coke have emerged.]
Tom Browning (1949- ) Among the many contemporary artists who specialize in creating images of Santa Claus, a favorite is Tom Browning, who has been a professional artist since 1972 [Figure 32]. It’s ironic that a commercial v e n t u r e launched by Tom just over a decade ago created an entirely new market for Santa Figure 32 Claus and put Tom at the top when it comes to depicting the beloved icon both at work and play. Tom has painted over 123 individual depictions of Santa since 1984. One of the favorites is “Spirit-of-Santa” [Figure 33]. Susan Comish Susan Comish [Figure 34] studied art with John Howard of New York, Robert Bruce William of Washington, DC and the renowned painter, Gene W. Anthony. Her studio is located in Utah. She is a member of the Portrait Institute of New Figure 34 York and a member of the American Portrait Society. Her historical and religious paintings hang in Universities, businesses, research institutions, and private homes on several continents. Among her artistic renderings of Santa Claus is “Down the Chimney” [Figure 35]. She ranks high within the group of contemporary artists who are continuing to keep Santa the man in a red suit with a long white beard. Dona Geisinger Dona Gelsinger was born in Phoenix and currently lives in the Rogue River Valley in southern Oregon. She is renowned in the art world and among collectors for her images of nature, angels, and Santa Claus [Figure 36].