Get your holiday cards out without touching an envelope or licking a stamp: our free image library has some high res pics available without restriction and suitable for the season. Here's a selection:
This Allegory of Winter by Fragonard fairly shouts Christmas (and seems apt as we shiver through a week of near-freezing nights in LA):
Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal by Hendrick Avercamp shows a group of Dutch citizens skating on a frozen canal.
Rumor has it that the exiled king and queen of Bohemia are in disguise, mixing with the commoners in the foreground. (The picture reminds me of David Hockney's comment, "People tend to forget that play is serious.")
Contested Visions brought my attention to this excellent option for religious imagery, The Virgin Adoring the Christ Child by an unknown Peruvian artist.
...and then there's this beautiful Italian version of the same theme:
...there are also options for a Zen holiday and a secular subject, like this Mountain Landscape in the Snow from our Japanese collection:
Pick your preference - about 1,995 more high resolution images are available for free in the image library. Then fire up Photoshop, or try one of several e-card apps to get you on your way.
One option for free ecards is eCardster. You'll have to size down the image (try "save as" and adjust the quality meter) to less than 2 mb, because our image library offers pretty large files (we wanted to give you the best quality we could, without restriction). Websites like moo work well if you want to print and send custom paper cards - $29.99 for 25 cards and they'll rush delivery for a fee. You can also make a multimedia card with Powerpoint, adding video and/or sound.
Happy Holidays, from LACMA.
Amy Heibel