Historical Smileys
Historical SmileysMost people think that the smiley face was invented sometime back in the 1960s. Actually, it has been around for much longer, as can be seen from these famous paintings throughout history.Click on any of the designs shown below to see that design on a wide variety of apparel and other merchandise, such a t-shirts, Coffee Mugs, calendars, hats, etc. |
Mona Smiley Most people don't realize that Mona Lisa had a sister named Smiley who Leonardo da Vinci painted first. |
American Gothic Smileys The Smileys lived next door to the famous couple that Grant Wood painted in "American Gothic". |
Smiley's Mother After painting his mother, James Abbot McNeill Whistler created his "Arrangement in Grey, Black and Yellow: Portrait of Smiley's Mother" for his next-door neighbor. |
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Smiley Scream Edvard Munch actually did a number of variations of his famous painting "The Scream", including this slightly more cheerful version. |
Blue Boy Smiley Before painting his famous "Blue Boy", Thomas Gainsborough painted "Blue Smiley". Unfortunately, people were confused because the smiley was actually yellow, and so he abandoned the idea. |
Smiley Venus Botticelli's famous "Birth of Venus" was actually painted over this early, more light-hearted, version. |
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Vitruvian Smiley After he sketched his famous "Vitruvian Man", Leonardo da Vinci created a colorized version of his slightly less famous "Vitruvian Smiley". |
Ghirlandaio Smiley After he painted his famous portrait of the dour Giovanna Tornabuoni in 1488, Domenico Ghirlandaio decided he wanted a slightly more cheerful subject for his next painting. |
Smiley Family Portrait In 1621, Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck (Van Dyke) painted a rare portrait of an entire family of Smileys. Their cat, also of cheerful disposition, was not invited to the sitting. |
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Smiley VIII Most people think that Henry VIII was one of the more eccentric kings of England, what with all the beheadings and all, but he couldn't hold a candle to Smiley VIII. |
Smiley Bar Right next to the more famous bar at the Folies-Bergère was the bar where all the smileys hung out, as painted by Eduoard Manet. |
Napoleon Smiley A lot of people don't realize that Napoleon "Smiley" Bonaparte had a lighter side (when he wasn't trying to conquer the known world, that is). |
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Smiley Kahlo Frida "Smiley" Kahlo painted this self-portrait of herself in 1938. Her famous joined eyebrows gave her a unique look in the world of Smileys. |
Historical Smileys Most people either think that the smiley face was invented sometime back in the 1960s. Actually, it has been around for hundreds of years, as can be seen from these famous paintings. |
