Santa Claus Wall Art

Santa Claus Wall Art

The honest caveat first: this is seasonal art, and seasonal art spends most of the year in a cupboard. Eleven months of storage for four weeks of display is a fair trade if you go in expecting it, and a mild irritation if you do not. Plan the storage before you buy — somewhere flat, dry and out of the loft, since temperature swings are not kind to anything stretched on a frame. If a wall is going to be empty for most of the year, decide now what occupies it in March.

Given that, buy for the four weeks rather than for a compromise. There is no point choosing a subdued Santa in the hope it might pass in January; it will not, and you will have spent the money on something that neither commits to Christmas nor works without it. Go properly festive or choose a different subject.

Styles split into two clear camps. Vintage illustration — the round-faced, rosy, mid-century advertising look &mdash} is warm and nostalgic and sits happily with traditional decorations, garlands and warm bulbs. Modern graphic treatments are flatter, often monochrome or two-colour, and suit a scheme built on white, brass and evergreen. The two do not mix well on the same wall.

Red is the practical problem worth thinking about. Deep saturated red under warm Christmas lighting can go slightly muddy, and against a warm cream wall it loses definition. If your festive lighting is all warm white bulbs, favour an image with strong dark and light contrast rather than one that leans entirely on the red.

Hallways and entrances are the best placement, since a piece that appears for one month reads as an event when it greets people at the door. Above a fireplace works if the mantel is not already crowded.

Practical test: hold the image up in the room with the main lights off and only the tree or festive lighting on. That is how it will actually be seen for most of December, and a surprising number of images look quite different under it.