St. Nicholas was a real person, a real canonized Saint. He was a Bishop in the 4th Century in a town called Myra of present-day Turkey. He was persecuted under the Emperor Diocletian, and after being freed by Constantine attended the Council of Nicea in 325.

One of the legends about his kindness was of helping three sisters
. They were so poor they had no dowry, and at that time it meant they could not get married and instead faced a life of prostitution. St. Nicholas threw three bags of gold into the window of their house so they could get husbands.

It was the giving of gifts—along with his Feast Day being in December—that allowed his story to transform into the red-suited Saint (Santa) Clause we now associate with Christmas. He died December 6, 343 AD, and his Feast Day is widely celebrated as a holiday in its own right. He is one of the Patron Saints of children. A fragment of a bone from his shrine has been carbon-dated to precisely his 4th Century.

This lovely Victorian picture was made by Heinrich Lefler, an Austrian Catholic primarily known as a set-designer, but also the artist of many beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations.
(sources: vaticannews.va and britannica.com)

– 8.5 x 11" acid-free matte paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

** IMPORTANT ** There is about an inch-and-a-third of white space around the picture, so the image is smaller than the paper.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.