User:Lisalewickihermanson1/sandbox

In 1943, Jim entered a Christmas card competition - the challenge - to depict the Christmas message in a time of war, sponsored by the American Artists Group. His painting of a bombed out church, with a large stained glass window of a Madonna and Child miraculously preserved, won second prize. The following year, asked to do a commission, he recalled the Buffalo winters of his childhood, picturing the Ukrainian Christmas tradition of carrying a lighted paper star from house to house as carols were sung. This led to a lifelong association with the theme of Christmas, starting with the series of cards, Christmas Customs of Many Lands, also for American Artists Group.[9]