1990 25c Madonna & Child

US #2514
1990 Madonna and Child

• Features detail from 15th century painting
• Issued for use on 1990 Christmas cards
• Produced in sheet and booklet formats

Stamp Category:  Special
Set:  Traditional Christmas
Value:  25¢
First Day of Issue:  October 18, 1990
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  612,000,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Offset and Intaglio
Format:  Panes of 50 or Booklets of 20 (2 panes of 10)
Perforations:  11 ¼ X 11 ½

Why the stamp was issued:  This traditional Christmas stamp was intended for use on Christmas cards sent out in 1990

About the stamp design:  The stamp design is based on the 15th century tempera and oil painting, Madonna and Child by Antonello de Messina.  This is housed in the National Gallery.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  The original painting was brought from the West building to the auditorium in the East building

About the Christmas series:  By the early 1960s, the US Post Office was receiving 1,000 letters a year (for several years) asking for a Christmas-themed stamp to frank their holiday mail.  The idea was approved and the US issued its first Christmas stamp on November 1, 1962.
The stamp was wildly popular, featuring popular holiday decorations of a wreath and candles.  The Post Office Department had expected there would be a great demand for the issue, so they printed 350 million stamps – the largest print run for a special stamp up to that time.  Those 350 million stamps sold out quickly, leading the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce more stamps – reaching over 860 million by the end of the year.
While the Christmas stamp was very popular, it wasn’t without its detractors.  Some didn’t agree with the idea of the post office issuing a stamp honoring a religious holiday.  Others wanted Christmas stamps that were more religious.  The Post Office would continue to issue Christmas stamps in the coming years that featured the National Christmas Tree, seasonal plants, and an angel in 1965. The angel was considered less controversial because angels are included in many religions, not just Christianity.
In 1966, the Post Office came up with a plan to produce Christmas stamps utilizing classic paintings of the Madonna and Child.  These stamps wouldn’t violate the separation of church and state because they were a celebration of culture.  On November 1, 1966, they issued the first US Madonna and Child stamp in Christmas, Michigan.  The stamp featured the 15^th century painting, Madonna and Child with Angels, by Flemish painter Hans Memling.
That stamp was very popular and over 1.1 billion were printed.  The same design was used again the following year, however, the 1967 stamp was larger and showed more of the painting.  The stamp’s continued popularity led the Post Office to issue another traditional Christmas stamp in 1968, this time picturing the Angel Gabriel.   For the 1969 issue, they reverted back to the non-religious theme, with a stamp picturing a painting called Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine.
The Post Office made a big change in 1970.  To keep people in both camps happy, they issued one traditional Christmas stamp, picturing a classic painting of the Nativity, plus a block of four picturing Christmas toys.  That decision proved popular and they have continued to issue stamps with both traditional and contemporary Christmas themes ever since.

History the stamp represents:  Antonello da Messina (c1425-1479) was an early Renaissance painter from Italy.  He trained in various cities in Italy before returning to his home in Messina.  The paintings done during this time seem to have been influenced by Flemish artists.  In the following years, Antonello became a master painter. 

In 1475, he traveled to Venice, where his work focused more on the expressions of his models.  The painting Madonna and Child was likely painting during this time.