1985 United Nations 40th Anniversary,S/S

This souvenir sheet commemorates the 40th anniversary of the United Nations, issued on June 26, 1985. The sheet features two stamps with artwork by Andrew Wyeth, one of America's most celebrated realist painters. The 45¢ stamp depicts a winter scene of horses pulling a wagon, titled "Roasted Chestnuts," while the 22¢ stamp shows a solitary winter landscape with a small building, titled "Alvaro and Christina." Both stamps are labeled "40th Anniversary of the United Nations" and are framed by decorative olive branch borders with the UN emblem at the top.

The selection of Andrew Wyeth's artwork for this commemorative issue represents the UN's practice of featuring prominent artists on their stamps. The winter scenes in muted earth tones reflect Wyeth's characteristic style of detailed realism and rural American subjects. The denominations of 45¢ and 22¢ corresponded to different postal rates from UN offices at the time. The souvenir sheet format, with its formal presentation and decorative elements, marks this as a special commemorative issue celebrating four decades of the United Nations' founding in 1945.