National Gallery’s look at The Art of Stamps

Local artist Joanne Sibley’s painting of George Town
Waterfront at Christmas Time, for a series of stamps
entitled, “The Cayman Islands at Christmas”

One of the paintings, Miss Lassie’s ‘They Rolled The
Stone Away,’ and the way it is incorporated into the
final set of stamps, based on her work

One of the Co-Curators of The Art of Stamps exhibition,
David Bridgeman, stands in front of a display of stamps
showing orchids of the Cayman Islands

The original painting by Natasha Kozaily, called ‘The Ascension,’ and the final stamp produced

Monday,  January 23, 2006

The Art of Stamps is a new exhibition at the National Gallery showing the artwork that has gone into the production of stamps in the Cayman Islands Stamps. 

It also shows some of the techniques that go into the process, from initial illustration to the final production of the stamp.

The scope of the exhibition is very wide, and includes different art formats, design techniques, layout and printings that are not normally seen by the general public, and is the result of the National Gallery’s collaboration with other local organizations including the Cayman Islands Post Office, and the National Museum. 

The co-curators of the exhibition are David Bridgeman and Ivan Burges, and it has been sponsored by Butterfield Bank. 

The exhibition comprises original artworks created for the Post Office by local artists, illustrators and photographers as well as first-day covers and historical equipment related to the field. 

The exhibition also includes a small collection of post office memorabilia, together with literature on the collecting of Cayman stamps and postal history.

Several of the stamp designs feature biblical themes, reflecting Cayman’s Christian heritage.

One of the sections is about stamps based around the artwork of the late Caymanian visionary intuitive artist Gladwyn Bush, popularly known as ‘Miss Lassie’.

Two of her paintings, ‘They Rolled The Stone’ Away, and ‘The World Prays for Peace’ were present in the exhibition, along with the final set of stamps produced from her paintings.

Another set of stamps was made from a painting by Caymanian artist Natasha Kozaily. The painting, called, The Ascension, was painted in traditional Caribbean style, when Ms Kozaily was just 18 years old. Other paintings with a Christian theme included Carole Mayer’s ‘Jesus carrying his Cross.’ 

Apart from stamps with a religious theme, there are also examples of the work of the local artist Joanne Sibley showing a scene from North Church Street in George Town at Christmas Time, in a series of stamps for Christmas 1996.

There is also a humorous Christmas stamp design by John Doak, ‘Claus Encounters in the Cayman Islands,’ which depicts Santa and his reindeer enjoying the beaches and warm weather here, relaxing for a time after delivering presents to all the children of the world.

Other artists whose work features in the exhibition include Debbie Van der Bol, Patricia Bradley, David Wolfe, Bridgette McPartland, and various child artists. The exhibition runs until 14 April.

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