Original Christmas card, signed and dated below print. Inscription on left side of card reads: "Best Wishes Dear Norman Love Angus". Copyright stamp and inscription reading: "Christmas Card with Self Portrait 1951. Single Exposure. Contact print from 1/2 plate negative" on verso.

McBean, a singular talent in 20th-century portraiture, was known for his unique ability to incorporate surrealist elements into complex, highly crafted compositions in which no detail was left untouched.
In this Christmas card from 1951, McBean depicts himself in a striped Edwardian swim suit, photographing his collection of bathing-beauty figurines on the beach amidst sand and sea shells. McBean noted that this was the first of his "dollies" Christmas cards.
Plate 88, page 123 in Terence Pepper's "Angus McBean Portraits" 2006 The Monacelli Press, Inc.

The Gernsheims were early collectors and strong fans of McBean's work, and he is highlighted in "The Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Center," University of Texas Press, Austin, 2010, page 300.Please contact the gallery for a quote on shipping and insurance costs. If applicable, residents of New York will be charged sales tax. International clients will be responsible for their VAT.