Wyoming Arts Council

Wyoming native T. Allen Lawson has created the 2008 White House Christmas card image [see photo above provided by Bush Administration], first lady Laura Bush announced Wednesday.

Lawson, 45, is the first Wyomingite to create a Christmas card for a first family, according to Sue Simpson Gallagher of the Simpson Gallagher Gallery in Cody.

An obviously elated Simpson Gallagher said Lawson was having dinner at the White House on Wednesday and couldn’t be reached for comment. She chuckled and labeled herself Lawson’s “western United States representative.”

“Lawson’s image is powerful,” Simpson Gallagher said. “His perspective is unique, as it is from the inside looking out. “There is an intimate view, one that only White House visitors would enjoy. It is a glimpse of the National Mall, known as America’s front lawn, from the Truman Balcony of the White House.”

Lawson was commissioned by Laura Bush last spring to paint a piece for the first family’s final Christmas card.

Lawson was born and raised in Sheridan before spending time in Jackson. He currently lives in Rockport, Maine…. Lawson attended the American Academy of Art and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. His work is on display at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody; the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine; and the Forbes Collection in New York, among others.