Smithsonian stamp exhibit visits Fargo
Postage stamps might not seem important to many people, but the artwork and images on stamps have played an important part in the history of American pop culture.
On Saturday, January 25, Fargo’s Plains Art Museum will unveil a new “Art of the Stamp” exhibit, which features original works of art used to create more than 100 U.S. stamps.
The exhibition is circulated by the Smithsonian Institution and runs through April 22.
From 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Jan. 27 the museum will host an opening reception for the exhibit, featuring special guests, discussion, hors d’oeuvres and music by Quiet Jazz.
Among the artwork is the original design for the “Elvis Presley” stamp, the most popular stamp in recent history.
In 1992 the United States Postal Service commissioned eight artists to design artwork for the now-famed Elvis stamp.
More than 60 sketches and paintings were submitted, and it was narrowed down to two choices: a painting of Elvis in his youth, and another image of a mature, 1970s Elvis.
The Postal Service decided to let the public choose, and after distributing ballots around the country, as well as inside copies of “People” magazine, more than 75 percent of the 1.2 million voters chose the younger Elvis Presley.
The USPS sold $500 million worth of the stamp, making it the best selling stamp of all-time.
John Berkey, the artist who created the unused painting of a mature Elvis, will be among the speakers at the opening reception.
Along with Fargo postmaster Greg Johnson, Berkey will discuss how new stamp ideas are developed, and how artwork ends up from the canvas to a postage stamp.
Berkey, a Minnesota resident born in Edgeley, N.D., is a nationally acclaimed artist whose illustrations have appeared in “Star Wars” novels, as well as works by well-known author Isaac Asimov.
In addition to his science-fiction artwork, Berkey has had many of his paintings turned into stamps.
Elvis Presley will be joined Marilyn Monroe, folk singer Woody Guthrie, boxer Joe Louis, Frankenstein, Olympic runners, ships, trains, astronauts, flamingos and dozens of other images that have appeared on postage stamps in the last forty years.
Also on display is the original artwork for Robert Indiana’s “Love Stamp,” the first in a series that has produced more than 30 stamps since 1973.
“Art of the Stamp” was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, in association with the U.S. Postal Service.
The exhibit is large, and will be held in both the William and Anna Jane Schlossman and the Jane L. Stern galleries, located inside the Plains Art Museum.
The museum is located in downtown Fargo, at 704 First Avenue North. As always, students get in free.