Untitled Valentine (Silver Dove)

Art Historical Context

Step into the romantic world of Victorian sentiment with *Untitled Valentine (Silver Dove by George Kershaw, created around 1850. This delicate folded sheet, measuring just 18 × 11.4 cm, captures the era's passion for elaborate love tokens exchanged on St. Valentine's Day. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department and classified as a valentine, it showcases Kershaw's skill in crafting intimate, handmade expressions of affection. Kershaw employed innovative mixed-media techniques: collaged elements combined with watercolor, pen, and blue ink on cut and embossed ivory wove paper. The embossing adds a tactile, three-dimensional quality, making the paper mimic luxurious lace or fine textiles, while the collage—layering disparate materials—creates depth and whimsy. The silver dove motif likely symbolizes peace, purity, and fidelity, common in 19th-century romantic iconography. Such craftsmanship elevated personal valentines beyond mass-produced cards, blending drawing precision with sculptural flair. In mid-19th-century America and Britain, valentines boomed as affordable yet artistic ways to declare love, reflecting broader cultural shifts toward emotional openness. Kershaw's piece, with its silvery elegance, offers a charming glimpse into this heartfelt tradition, reminding us how art once folded neatly into pockets—and hearts.

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...