Gallery

Howard Chandler Christy poses before a painting of model, muse and wife, Nancy Palmer Christy, circa 1920.

(Special Collections, Lafayette College, Easton, PA)

During the first decade of the 20th century, newspapers held contests to find the living embodiment of “The Christy Girl”. Thousands of women submitted photos for a chance to win a cash prize and appear in the news.

(Chronicling America, Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

Christy immortalizes Collette Ramsey on canvas in his Hotel des Artistes studio in or around March 1938. Collette was a close friend of Christy and the founder of the Deaf Research Foundation (now the Hearing Health Foundation).

(Collection of Collette Ramsey Baker, Vero Beach, Florida)

During World War I, Christy painted numerous government posters to compel men to join the armed services, and the public to “BUY BONDS”. It worked, resulting in thousands of new recruits and millions of dollars in contributions. Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst commissioned Christy to paint romantic scenes for the covers of his American Weekly magazine and later immortalize his own image at his California mansion, Hearst Castle.

(American Weekly, August 8, 1918)

During the Great Depression, Christy pursued his passion of painting nudes. In this January 1930 photo, Titian-haired model Blanche Satchel clutches her fur-lined robe before Christy's finished screen reflecting her unclothed, sensuous beauty.

(Special Collections, Lafayette College, Easton, PA)

Howard and Nancy Christy stroll on the White House grounds in 1924. The couple were frequent guests at the White House during the administrations of Harding, Coolidge, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Christy's final visit was in February 1947 to sketch President Truman for his painting The Signing of the United Nations Charter.

(Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, DC)