Joan Hanson Painted Art Published Calendar Gallery from 1972-1982

Like one of our Midwestern namesake artists, good old' Sparky - Charles Schulz - was a part of the very heart of Minnesota - so too was a lesser-known artist named Joan Hanson. In the early 1970s and for over a decade, working both through book publishers and via the massive paper magnate Brown and Bigelow in all its myriad forms, Hanson blanketed our region with children's books, comic joke books, calendars, wall plaques, greeting cards, playing card decks, and every other manner of printed medium. Much of her work was donated to the University of Minnesota. However, a small collection of her incredible mixed-media, gouache paintings, primarily from her calendar work for B&B between 1972 and 1983 - resides in my collection. Ranging from over 50 years old, to just under it, these are meticulously crafted works on paper. For years I always thought of her as Minnesota’s own Eric Carle. I have posted a small number of auctions to eBay, but at twice the price I am going to be offering pieces here. They do not exist in the wild, but these are full of magic and whimsy and so I thought I would avail them to my colleagues for this opportunity. Questions welcome.