ADVENT CALENDAR 2022

23. NATIVITY WITH THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS

Nancy Schnarr-Bruell, an artist from Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, created this three-dimensional version of an illustration in The Christ Child, a 1931 children’s book by Maud and Miska Petersham. The Petershams, a husband-and-wife artist team, were well known in the first half of the 20th century as illustrators and authors of children’s literature.

The Petershams’ books were well regarded by Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn; Mildred gave copies of The Christ Child to over 100 families and friends in the year 1949 alone. The Pitcairns’ enthusiasm for the book was so great that in the late 1930s they commissioned artist Frank Snyder to paint a life-size interpretation of the illustration of the Adoration of the Shepherds for Glencairn, their newly-completed home in Bryn Athyn.

The three-dimensional version of the Petershams’ illustration was handcarved and sewn by Nancy Schnarr-Bruell; the backdrop was created by her husband, John Bruell. According to Schnarr-Bruell, “I love making Nativities because I love making images of the Lord. I think the Petershams in the book The Christ Child, especially in their illustration of the Adoration of the Shepherds, were able to capture a sphere of innocence that we should all strive for when we come before the Lord. I grew up with many of the Petersham books, and The Christ Child was a favorite part of my childhood Christmas tradition. Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to ‘step inside’ the scene, and be there at the manger with the shepherds. So . . . I decided to make a three-dimensional version. I hope it will help others to experience what I’ve been experiencing in my own imagination for many years.”

Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2022 Advent Calendar.