Hallmark Ornaments by Dill Rhodus

The appeal of Dill Rhodus’s Keepsake work begins with observation: character, costume, posture, and setting all contribute to the story. The catalog presently traces 190 distinct ornaments to Dill Rhodus, beginning with 1983 Trimming Our Tree, Christmas Pewter Plate #7 and extending through 2005 TIE Advanced x1 and Millennium Falcon, Star Wars, Miniature. Major collecting connections include Football Legends, Star Wars, At the Ballpark, Peanuts, and Baseball Heroes.

Football Legends provides one of the clearest ways to follow the work; Star Wars highlights a different side of the portfolio; Ornaments such as 1983 Trimming Our Tree, Christmas Pewter Plate #7, 1994 Making It Bright, and 2000 Angels Over Bethlehem, Magic mark useful points in the chronology. Seen as a group, the ornaments show an artist responding to many different briefs without losing the warmth expected from a holiday keepsake.