Artist Ed Wheeler injects festive fun into classic paintings

In this humorous series of self-portraits, american artist Ed Wheeler, steps into classic masterworks of artdressed as the iconic santa claus. paying homage to the original paintings, ‘santa classics’ offers art lovers a twist and an additional reason to smile during the silly season. after researching the works of the masters, wheeler felt certain compositions beckoned for a ‘santa intervention’. embarking on a multi-step process to fully integrate the jolly red figure into the lighting, brushstrokes and tonal values of the painting, the famous images are reinterpreted. the work will be exhibited at bahdeebahdu in philadelphia from december 6 – 21, 2013. the philadelphia museum of art is the first museum in the world to publish a series of santa classics holiday cards, available in their online store.