Paint-by-numbers Mission Scene

The art is 16" x 12", the attractive frame measures 18" x 14". Check photos for some minor damage to the surface. The affection for these pieces of Americana only grows. Paint by number in its popular form was created by the Palmer Show Card Paint Company. The owner of the company approached employee Dan Robbins with the idea for the project. After several iterations of the product, the company in 1951 introduced the Craft Master brand, which went on to sell over 12 million kits.This public response induced other companies to produce their own versions of paint by number. The Craft Master paint kit box tops proclaimed, "A BEAUTIFUL OIL PAINTING THE FIRST TIME YOU TRY." Following the death of Max Klein in 1993, his daughter, Jacquelyn Schiffman, donated the Palmer Paint Co. archives to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The archival materials have been placed in the museum's Archives Center where they have been designated collection #544, the "Paint by Number Collection". In 19