Believe My Heart Will Ever Prove (valentine)
c. 1840
Medium
Collaged elements and watercolor, with pen and black ink on embossed off-white wove paper
Dimensions
Folded sheet: 22.9 × 19 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
valentine
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75533
Art Historical Context
**Believe My Heart Will Ever Prove (valentine)**, created around 1840 by George Kershaw is a charming example of Victorian-era romantic ephemera held in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection This folded sheet, measuring about 9 × 7½ inches, captures the sentimental spirit of mid-19th-century courtship, when handmade valentines were a beloved way to declare love on February 14th. The title's poetic phrasing hints at enduring devotion, reflecting the era's fascination with heartfelt expressions amid growing mass-produced greetings. Kershaw employed innovative mixed-media...
About the Artist
George Kershaw
George Kershaw is an artist whose works have been preserved in museum collections in meaningful quantity, pointing to a genuine career and a recognized body of output, even though the biographical details that would identify his nationality, training, and active period have not been established in the sources currently available. The absence of nationality information alongside the absence of date...