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The Mid-Century Christmas MCMXLV — MCMLXV

Christmas Dog Portrait from Your Photo

From $60

Rendered in the manner of mid-century American magazine illustration — warm gouache, soft confident shapes, a postwar living room on Christmas Eve with tinsel, glass baubles and the glow of coloured bulbs. Sincere rather than ironic: the domestic illustration of the weekly magazines, not the silkscreen poster.

Cats and dogs alike are commissioned in this tradition — the studio renders whichever companion is in your photograph.

Buster Whitcomb — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLII
Buster Whitcomb
Kept watch by the tree until the last light went out
Studio example
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§ Commission

Commission a Portrait

A bespoke study of your own companion, rendered in this hand.

One of the Christmas styles. See all the Christmas pet portraits

Responsible person for EU product safety: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, Limassol, Cyprus, gpsr@honsonventures.com. EU consumer information

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From source image to portrait

Drag the line, or use the arrow keys, to compare a source image with the portrait the studio rendered from it.

a tricolour beagle half-buried in a throw blanket on the sofa, in daylight, rendered by the studio in The Mid-Century Christmas style, from the source image in this frame
The source image: a tricolour beagle half-buried in a throw blanket on the sofa, in daylight
MCMLV
Biscuit Hartley
Guarded the tree every December, sweater and all
Studio example The portrait was rendered from the image shown, by the studio's own commission pipeline. The source is an AI-generated stand-in, not a customer's photograph.
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Works from the Collection

Dolly Hartigan — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLVI
Dolly Hartigan
Unwrapped the ribbon first, every year
Skip Larrabee — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMXLIX
Skip Larrabee
Waited at the foot of the stairs for Christmas morning
Mitzi Calloway — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLXI
Mitzi Calloway
Claimed the armchair nearest the tree
Rusty Pemberton — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLIV
Rusty Pemberton
Lay by the hearth until the stockings were filled
Buster Whitcomb — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLII
Buster Whitcomb
Kept watch by the tree until the last light went out
Penny Holloway — The Mid-Century Christmas
MCMLVIII
Penny Holloway
Met every caller at the porch, snow or no snow

Portraits by pet: Dog portraits Cat portraits

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About this tradition

For two decades after the war, the covers of the big American weekly magazines were painted, and at Christmas they painted the living room: a tree hung with tinsel and glass baubles, coloured bulbs, presents piled at its foot, snow at the window and lamplight on everything. The illustrators worked in gouache and oil for reproduction, with soft confident shapes and warm shadows, and the pictures were sincere. They were meant to look like the best version of an ordinary evening, and for millions of readers that is what Christmas looked like.

This collection renders your pet into that evening. A hand-knitted sweater, a tartan bow tie or a red scarf; the tree, the hearth, the porch with its wreath, or the foot of the stairs under a garland; cranberry, pine green and warm cream with gold in the highlights. It is the gentlest collection in the studio, and it suits a dog who has decided that the armchair by the tree is, for this one night, unquestionably theirs.

How a commission works

  1. Send a photograph

    One clear picture of your pet is enough, and it does not need to be a good one. Choose this tradition, add anything worth knowing about them, and nothing is charged at this point.

  2. See the proof

    The studio returns a painted-style proof in a few minutes. You look at it before paying anything at all.

  3. Approve, or start again

    If it is not right, restart at no charge — a different photograph, a different tradition, or clearer notes. You pay only once you have approved a proof you actually want.

  4. It is printed and sent

    The approved portrait prints on cotton-blend canvas, stretched and ready to hang, and ships to the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia — 5–12 business days in the US, 9–19 business days internationally.

What arrives

Questions people ask

Is this AI?
Yes. Your portrait is rendered by studio software in the visual style of the old masters, then printed on cotton-blend canvas. Nobody paints it by hand, and we say so plainly because it is what you are buying.
Will it look like my actual pet?
That is the whole job. The rendering follows the coat, markings, ear set and expression in your photograph. You see the result before paying, so if it does not look like them you have lost nothing.
What if my photo is not very good?
Most commissions begin with an ordinary phone snapshot. Daylight and a clear view of the face help most; blur, grain and a cluttered background rarely matter. Older photographs of pets who have passed are often the least technically good and among the most worth commissioning.
Can you do my breed, my senior, my rescue with one ear?
Every breed, every age, every characterful detail. The specific things that make them recognisable are the things worth rendering.
What if I have more than one pet?
Tick the multiple-pets option on the upload step and they are rendered together, side by side. Best for two; three or more begins to crowd the composition.
Does this tradition only suit one kind of animal?
No. Every tradition is rendered for whichever companion is in your photograph — a dog can be an emperor and a cat can be a marshal. The examples shown are only examples.
How long until it arrives?
The proof appears in a few minutes. Once you approve and pay, the canvas prints and ships to the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia — 5–12 business days in the US, 9–19 business days internationally.
What if I change my mind after seeing the proof?
Nothing is charged until you approve one, so changing your mind before that costs nothing at all.