awake1) the first card created by a White House staff artist: in 1989, Mrs. Bush felt that it “would be fun to have someone who had worked so long in the White House and who loved it so much to paint [their] card.” She selected White House Director of Graphics William Gemmell, who had previously drawn images for While House invitations and programs, was chosen for the task. Gemmell admits to being “scared to death” following the list of famed American artists who had worked on the Reagan series of Presidential Christmas cards.
2) The first Christmas Card depicting official activities on the White House lawn: Using a combination of watercolor and acrylic, Gemmell composed two variations of the Truman Balcony as viewed from the South Lawn. Exterior Christmas decorations adorned the familiar view, and a Christmas tree stood visible through the windows of the Blue Room. The door leading to the Diplomatic Reception Room – the First Family’s personal entrance to the residence, was captured near the bottom of the scene. Mrs. Gemmell came up with the title for the paintings, Celebrating Christmas at the President’s House.
Mrs. Bush showed both renderings of the South Portico to Hallmark representatives. She informed them that she liked the painting with less snow better, while her husband preferred the snow-swept scene and asked them to make a decision. The snow-covered print won out, but Mrs. Bush was pleased nonetheless, stating “Bill did a wonderful job. We loved it because that’s the way you think of the White House.”
Hallmark printed 150,000 official White House Christmas cards and 7,500 gift prints for the Bushes. The interior greeting read, “The President and Mrs. Bush extend their warmest wishes that Christmas and the New Year will hold much happiness and peace for you and those you love.”
3) The first Presidential Christmas Card to feature the Oval Office: In 1990, President Bush decided to feature the Oval Office in the First Family’s official holiday cards. New York interior designer Mark Hampton had helped the Bushes refurbish several White House rooms, including the Oval Office. The President and Mrs. Bush asked Hampton to compose a formal rendering of the Oval Office for their official White House Christmas cards. Hampton called it “a great honor” and sent the First Couple a preliminary sketch. According to the First Lady, “He sent the most marvelous painting for us to approve and there in the middle was Millie! George felt, and I did too, that when you send greetings to Kings and Queens, you don’t need the dog in the picture. So he painted another, and I have both of his sketches – for the official card and the unofficial card.” The design was entitled The Oval Office, The White House and Hallmark printed 153,000 Presidential Christmas cards and 7,000 gift folders. For that Christmas, President W. H. Bush presented the members of his Cabinet and executive staff with copies of David Boorstein’s book, The Americans: The Democratic Experience.
4) The first card depicting the President's living Quarters: In 1991 Mrs. Bush asked artist Kamil Kubik to create the image of a family Christmas. In the first depiction of the family’s living quarters to be portrayed in an official White House Christmas card, Kubik set up in the second-floor Yellow Oval Room and painted for two days. He described the experience as “incredible… to be in that elegant room, surrounded by magnificent American paintings.” In his portrait, The Family Tree, Upstairs at the White House, the artist portrayed a scene of toys and other opened gifts scattered around the tree and surrounding area beneath the room’s grand and glowing chandelier. Hallmark produced 160,000 White House Christmas cards and 5,000 gift prints. To his top staff, President Bush bequeathed a copy of the sequel to the previous year’s Boorstein offering, The Americans: The National Experience.
For Christmas 1991, Kubik was on hand to capture the ceremonial lighting of the official tree on the White House lawn. To help flip the switch were five American hostages recently freed from captivity in Lebanon. After an unintended 28-second technical delay, the 38-foot spruce illuminated in red, white, and blue, and the 12,000 in attendance burst into applause. Set against an indigo sky, Kubik captured the multi-tiered patriotic lighting, state trees adorned with brightly colored flags, and surrounding snow-covered foliage, and committed it to canvas. Kubik said “I didn’t do it with any idea in mind. I just liked the scene and activity at Christmas.” The President and First Lady loved Kubik’s painting and asked if they could again use his art for their official 1992 White House Christmas cards. Kubik described it as “a great honor” stating, “During World War II, I escaped from the Communists and found refuge in the American army. The President, as Commander-in-Chief, is the Guardian Angel (of the civilized world). For me, to be able to do something for the President, I would drop everything at any time.” Hallmark produced a record 185,000 official Presidential Christmas cards, as well as 8,500 commemorative folders displaying Kubik’s painting. Close aides and staff members received a third Boorstein book, The Americans: The Colonial Experience, from President Bush.
I love those stories of how the cards came about. Perhaps it may be crassly commercial of me, but I can't help wondering if some of Bush's cabinet members must have thought, as they were opening their Christmas present from the President, "oh gees, not another damn Boorstein book again!"