ROMERO BRITTO (b. 1963, Brazil),

'Sport for Peace' – Games of the 2008 XXIX Olympics, Beijing, China — F.s. / CHF 1,00 and 1,80

United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) Commemorative First Day Cover (FDC)

One Romero Britto designed gold-foiled UNPA F.s. (CHF) 1,00 and 1,80 stamps First Day Cover. The images depicted on these stamps is that of Olympic sports gymnastics balance beam and tennis. Limited edition. BRAND NEW / Mint condition.

In August 2008, the UNPA released a stamp collection created by Romero commemorating the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The UNPA commissioned the world-renowned South American artist Romero Britto to create six pieces of original artwork to design the stamps. The resulting stamp collection is based on six of Romero’s original paintings depicting athletes participating in Olympic sports such as swimming and gymnastics.

First Day Covers are envelopes affixed with stamps and cancelled with the date of their first day of issue produced for each new stamp issue. For the three offices, New York, Geneva and Vienna, there is one “official” first day cover designed for each new stamp issue. The covers, bearing the new stamps and first day cancellations, are available as of the day of the stamp issue in some or all of the following options:

These covers can be obtained for a period of 90 days from date of issue while supplies last.

Series Specifications:

Format: 50 mm horizontally by 36 mm vertically, perforation to perforation.

Perforation: 12 ¾ x 13 ¼

Marginal inscription: The horizontal sheets of 9 stamps have two marginal inscriptions, one in the left margin and one in the right margin. The marginal inscription consists of the Chinese Zodiac sign for "The Year of the Rat" and the text "United Nations" below the emblem. In the top margin of the stamp is the text "Sport for Peace – The XXIX Olympics, Beijing 2008". The Olympic rings appear in the top margin and on the stamps. The artist’s printed signature appears in the lower right margin. The UNPA logo appears in the bottom margins. One copyright symbol appears in the lower left margin.

Printing: A unique printing process has been used for this stamp issue, which is a first ever for any postal administration. The total sheet area for the stamps and souvenir sheets is gold-foiled. Then a white offset coating is applied to the four-color areas and then a four-color process is printed over the white areas.

The Design: Each of the stamp images portrays events of the Olympic Games, such of track and field (US$ 0.42, US$ 0.94), gymnastics (CHF 1,00, € 0.65), tennis (CHF 1,80) and swimming (€ 1.30).

Selling Units: The stamps are available in selling units of a single stamp or in selling units of a mini-sheet of 9 stamps.

Since 1989, Romero Britto's reputation as one of the most famous Pop artists of his generation has been firmly established. Today he is collected by, and done portraits of world's #1 tennis player Roger Federer, Dustin Hoffman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jordan, Gloria Estefan, Andre Agassi, Eileen Guggenheim, David Rockefeller, Senator Ted Kennedy and dozens of other society, political and entertainment figures. Britto has been a fixture on the international art scene since 1989 when he was commissioned by Absolut Vodka along with Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Andy Warhol, to design a bottle label for a company advertising campaign. Following on the heels of Absolut, Britto's whimsical Pop art is consistently commissioned by major corporations for large-scale murals, sculptures and product logos around the world. Recent corporate requests include Disney, Evian, Pepsi-Cola, Volvo, Royal Caribbean, Unilever and BMW (Mini Cooper).

Britto was born in the small, fishing village of Recife, Brazil, in 1963. Accepting a friend's invitation, Romero traveled to Miami where he sold his art on the streets of Coconut Grove until being represented by the highly respected gallery owner, Berenice Steiner. Through his vibrant colors, playful themes and hard-edged compositions, Romero Britto captures the attention of both youthful spirits and educated art collectors. Easily recognized, Britto's work is unmistakable bold, modern and colorful. His style combines the mass cultural references of Pop Art with the intricate compositional qualities of cubism. Most distinctive is the incorporation of his Britto signature as a design element. Today, Romero Britto is represented in galleries on five continents and has had several museum exhibits in the U.S., Europe and South America. His paintings and sculptures can currently be seen in Monte Carlo, France, Sao Paulo, Germany, Dubai, China and Switzerland among other countries.

Romero Britto's paintings have been presented to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern. He has been introduced to President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by his good friend, Columba Bush, wife of Florida Governor Jeb Bush after receiving a private lunch invitation to the White House. In 2006, he was invited to speak on two panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Other invitees included U2's Bono, artists Christo and Jean-Claude, actors Michael Douglas and Angelina Jolie, Professor Elie Wiesel, and curator with New York's Museum of Modern Art, Paola Antonelli. Britto was the youngest artist at the 2006 Forum and one of only two artists from the U.S. He was also asked to speak at the 2007 Forum.

Romero's commissioned monumental sculpture this year commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Montreux Jazz Festival. Britto's portrait of legendary art dealer and the founder of Art Basel, Ernst Beyeler, now hangs at Fondation Beyeler, the Swiss museum that also houses the works of Klee, Cézanne, Picasso, Monet, Matisse and Giacometti. In December 2005, Britto joined the international short list of artists selected to participate in the Florence Biennale and will do so again in 2006. He has been named the state of Florida's Ambassador of the Arts. In 2004, his 'Welcome' sculpture, the world's largest aluminum sculpture, was erected at Dadeland station in Miami.

In June 2008, a tour of 12 Romero Britto monumental sculptures kicked-off to great fanfare in Littleton, CO. Over the next year, the tour will travel to eleven U.S. cities. Stops include Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA, Charlotte, NC, Miami, FL, San Antonio, TX, Phoenix, AZ and Pasadena, CA, to name just a few.

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