Anniversary gifts by year: 11 milestones, each with a masterpiece
Paper, cotton, flowers, wood, crystal, china, silver, pearl, ruby, gold and a lifetime: an artwork for every traditional anniversary, from the first year to the sixtieth.
Each traditional wedding anniversary has its own material, from paper in the first year to gold in the fiftieth. The idea is that the gifts grow more lasting as the marriage does.
We have matched eleven of the best known anniversaries with a masterwork that fits its theme: paper for a print on paper, silver for a silver morning, gold for a gold screen. Each can be given as a print. And for the biggest milestones, the most personal gift of all is a portrait of the couple made from a photo, which Fable paints in the manner of the old masters, with a free preview first.
1. 1st anniversary, paper: Couple in a Boat
Kitagawa Utamaro, Couple in a Boat, c. 1799. Color woodblock print. Cleveland Museum of Art.
Paper is the first anniversary gift, so start with a work made on it: Utamaro’s colour woodblock print of a couple in a small boat, he steering, she watching him. A fitting picture for the first year of a journey together.
Pale and graceful, it suits any room.
2. 2nd anniversary, cotton: Interior with Women beside a Linen Cupboard
Pieter de Hooch, Interior with Women beside a Linen Cupboard, 1663. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Cotton and linen are the second year’s gifts, the materials of a shared home. Pieter de Hooch’s women stacking fresh linen into the household cupboard show the quiet pride of a well kept house.
Warm, orderly and calm: lovely in a bedroom or hallway.
3. 4th anniversary, flowers: A Still Life with a Spray of Flowers
Rachel Ruysch, A still-life with a spray of flowers, ca. 1685-1700. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Fruit and flowers mark the fourth year. Rachel Ruysch was the most celebrated flower painter of her day, and her bouquets never wilt.
The Ruysch also has its own Fable style, so you can see your own flowers, or pet, painted her way.
Create your portrait in this style
4. 5th anniversary, wood: The Silence of the Forest
Arnold Böcklin, The Silence of the Forest, 1885.
Wood is for the fifth year, the moment a marriage has put down roots. Böcklin’s forest is deep, still and a little magical, with a woman riding out of it on a unicorn.
For a couple who love fairy tales, or long walks in the woods.
5. 15th anniversary, crystal: A Bouquet of Flowers in a Crystal Vase
Nicolaes van Veerendael, A Bouquet of Flowers in a Crystal Vase, 1662. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Crystal marks fifteen years. Nicolaes van Veerendael painted the glass vase as carefully as the flowers, so you see stems through water and light caught on the rim.
This Fable style also exists, if you would like a bouquet of your own painted in it.
Create your portrait in this style
6. 20th anniversary, china: Flowers and Fruit in a Porcelain Bowl
Juan de Zurbarán, Flowers and Fruit in a Porcelain Bowl, c. 1645. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
China is the twentieth anniversary gift. Juan de Zurbarán, son of the great Francisco, painted this white porcelain bowl filled with fruit and flowers, glowing out of the dark.
A beautiful kitchen or dining room picture.
7. 25th anniversary, silver: A Silver Morning
George Inness, A Silver Morning, 1886. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.
For a silver wedding, a silver picture. George Inness painted the light of early morning, when everything turns grey and gold and soft. It is a picture about time, and about light that keeps returning.
Hang it in a living room where morning light reaches it.
8. 30th anniversary, pearl: Pompadour at Her Toilette
François Boucher, Pompadour at Her Toilette, 1750, with later additions. Oil on canvas. Harvard Art Museums.
Pearl is the gift for thirty years. Boucher painted Madame de Pompadour at her dressing table in silk and pearls, a portrait of elegance that never goes out of style.
Soft pinks and greys for a bedroom or dressing room.
9. 40th anniversary, ruby: Young Woman with a Red Necklace
Rembrandt, Young Woman with a Red Necklace, ca. 1645. Oil on wood. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Ruby belongs to the fortieth year. In this small Rembrandt the only colour is the red of the necklace, glowing against a face emerging from the dark.
Small, intimate and deeply felt, like a long marriage.
10. 50th anniversary, gold: Birds and Flowers
Kano Mitsunobu, Birds and Flowers, late 1500s. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art.
The golden anniversary deserves gold. Kano Mitsunobu painted these birds and flowers on folding screens covered in gold leaf in the late 1500s; a pair of birds side by side, as calm as fifty years together.
A grand piece for a living room or above a bed.
11. 60th anniversary, a lifetime: Spring Day (The Three Life Ages)
Arnold Böcklin, Spring Day (The Three Life Ages), 1883.
The sixtieth is the diamond anniversary, and no painting says diamond better than a whole life. Böcklin’s meadow holds a young couple making music, a mother with her children and an old man resting: every age of a family in one spring day.
A picture to give a couple with children and grandchildren.
Whatever the year, the best anniversary gift says that you were paying attention. A print that matches the theme is a lovely gesture; a portrait of the two of you, made from a photo you both love, is one that will be handed down.
Questions
What are the traditional anniversary gifts by year?
The best known list runs: 1st paper, 2nd cotton, 3rd leather, 4th fruit and flowers, 5th wood, 10th tin, 15th crystal, 20th china, 25th silver, 30th pearl, 40th ruby, 50th gold and 60th diamond. Lists vary a little between countries.
What is a good 50th wedding anniversary gift?
Something golden and lasting: a print of a gold-ground painting, or a family portrait made from a photo of the couple with their children and grandchildren.
Can I give an art print for any anniversary?
Yes. Matching the theme is a nice touch, but a print of a painting that means something to the couple, such as one from a city where they honeymooned, is always welcome.