What Does He Look Like?

The rapid popularity growth of Moore's 1822 poem gave rise to a variety of artist's interpretations of how Santa Claus looked. In the beginning he wasn't the fat jolly old man with white beard and red suit that we know and love. If you follow the images below you can see the progression that began in 1849 and eventually led to our present day gift giver.

The increasing popularity of the Santa Claus character also prompted many famous artists to tackle the question of what he looked like. The attached pages to this section can give you a sense of how their imagination helped to form the standard image of Santa Claus. 

Santa's Whiskers