The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) issued the 2022 edition of its traditional Christmas stamp last week in a dedication ceremony at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
This year”™s stamp features “Virgin and Child,” an oil-on-panel painting from the first half of the 16th century by an unidentified Florentine artist whom art scholars have known since the late 1960s as the Master of the Scandicci Lamentation. The name is based on similarities in style evident in a painting called “The Lamentation on the Dead Christ” made for a church in the town of Scandicci, near Florence.
The “Virgin and Child” painting is in the Robert Dawson Evans Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp, which now available for sale.
“It’s a beautiful piece of art, with particular meaning this time of year,” said U.S. Postal Service Organization Development Vice President Jenny Utterback. “I choose my holiday cards with care, sign them with love or best wishes, and may write a personal note inside. Holiday cards are a special way to connect with family and friends. The stamp on the envelope holds significance as well.”
