Birthday Celebration Drawing
1972
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
pen and blue ink on printed card
Dimensions
sheet: 16 x 25.2 cm (6 5/16 x 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The John U. and Evelyn S. Nef Collection
Accession Number
2011.60.34
Art Historical Context
Marc Chagall created this intimate drawing in 1972, late in a career that spanned much of the twentieth century. Known for blending personal memory with poetic imagery, Ch often returned to themes of celebration, love, and festivity. The modest title suggests a private moment transformed into something tender and symbolic, consistent with his lifelong interest in marking life’s joyful occasions. Executed in pen and blue ink on a printed card, the work highlights the artist’s command of line. The fluid medium allows spontaneous, expressive marks that feel both immediate and lyrical. At just 16...
About the Artist
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall, born Moishe Shagal on July 7, 1887, in Liozna near Vitebsk in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), grew up as the eldest of nine children in a devout Jewish family confined to the Pale of Settlement. His father worked as a herring merchant's porter, while his mother sold groceries from home, instilling in young Chagall a deep connection to Hasidic Judaism and Eastern European folklore a...