Christmas card from the Charlot's (Jean and Dorothy) to an unknown recipient, bi-fold with Virgin and Child on front and personal annotations on back with a list of prints the recipient should receive (possibly the Met) 1930

This anonymous Christmas card, likely a woodblock print, was sent by Jean and Dorothy Charlot to an unknown friend. It's got that graphic quality, a directness in its mark-making that I really admire. The whole thing feels like an offering. The texture, especially in the Virgin's robes and the clouds, is just delicious. You can almost feel the artist carving away at the wood, each line deliberate, yet the overall effect is kind of loose. It's like they're wrestling with the material, letting the grain of the wood and the ink do their thing. The swirls of her cloak, those repetitive forms, make me think of other artists deeply invested in both the spiritual and the handmade. Think about someone like Agnes Martin and her grids, or Hilma af Klint and her cosmic diagrams, how they used repetition and pattern to tap into something bigger than themselves. This little print, with its simple blue ink and heartfelt message, feels like it's part of that conversation.