Name/Title
Kraft, Arthur Christmas Card "Christmas Tree That Danced"Entry/Object ID
AM2012.13.5Scope and Content
Kraft, Arthur Christmas Card "Christmas Tree That Danced" is a Christmas Card designed by Arthur Kraft and short story inside written by Arthur Kraft. Story dated December 19th, 1952. Card was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Jordan of Lee's Summit, Missouri by a friend, "Georgia". She wrote "a picture in words"
Arthur Mayfield Kraft was a native of Kansas City, attended Southwest High School, the Kansas City Art Institute and Yale University.
While at Yale, he won an Alice Kimball English Award in 1946 to study abroad. His paintings took first prize at both the Army Arts Exhibition in San Francisco in 1945 and at the Fifth Annual Audubon Artists Exhibition in New York in 1946.
Mr. Kraft has four metal sculptures at the famous Northland Shopping Center in Detroit, Michigan. His works have appeared at the Salon of Jean Cocteau at the Palais Royale in Paris and in 1949 at a one-man show in New York at the Jacques Selegmann Gallery. In Kansas City, his murals are in the Muehlebach Hotel, Macy's, Pickwick Hotel, the Kansas City Public Library, Douglass School, and Security National Bank , to name a few.
Arthur Kraft was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1956 by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.
His is composed of brilliant colors and fantasy figures and beautiful shapes.
Arthur Kraft was a patient at the St. Joseph State Hospital #2 for a short period of time.
"The Christmas Tree That Danced"
by Arthur Kraft, December 19th, 1952
Once there was a fine pine tree who was very small. Who watched the larger pine trees throw their heads into the sunlight and spread their beautiful branches to the wind. As time went on the little pine tree watched its brother pine trees lift themselves taller and taller into the blue skies and occasionally one would reach out to touch a feathery cloud that had sailed too low. But, somehow the little pine tree never could reach high enough to touch the lowest branch of his brother's lovely foilage. And the little pine tree became very sad.
While the other pine trees waved in the autumn winds, and seemed to talk with one another, and sheltered great white birds for an evening or two, the little pine tree stood alone in the darkness, and listened to the song of the white birds.
Then one day there were shots in the forest, and men in red coats chased away the beautiful birds. And there was silence in the forest, and the little pine tree wept because the sound of the white birds was gone. Then the winds that were cold blew through the forest, and the great tall trees stopped chattering amongst themselves, and were very quiet.
Soon the snow began to fall, softly at first, then in a great fury. It covered all the things in the forest. But because the little pine tree stood beneath the arms of his brothers, the cold snow did not touch him. In all the quiet, he wished to hear again the joyous song of the white birds, but they were gone. And he was very lonely and he wept again. Then something wonderful happened. Through the cold foilage a great star appeared and gently touched the top branch of the little pine tree, and the star smiled, and suddenly, it could not cry anymore for it had found love, and the little pine tree burst into brilliant light and danced in the white snow.
In the morning a huntsman, wandering through the forest in search of a Christmas tree, stumbled over a fragile burnt pine tree buried in the snow. When he picked it up a beautiful white bird flew from its branches and into the tall pine trees of the forest.Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Card, GreetingNomenclature Primary Object Term
CorrespondenceNomenclature Sub-Class
Other DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Art, ArtistsSearch Terms
Kansas City Art Institute, St. Joseph State Hospital No. 2, Glore Psychiatric MuseumRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Kraft, Arthur
