
This tree is a holiday tradition at the museum, and it’s become a favorite with both New Yorkers and visitors alike.
There are twenty-two cherubs and fifty-five gracefully suspended angels on the tree .The lights on the tree are strategically placed to illuminate their faces. The lighting in the tree room is intentionally kept soft so that the colors on the aging fabrics of the figurines doesn’t dull. That's why flash when making pictures is not allowed.

Nativity scene is the oldest and most recognized traditional icon for the Christmas season. St. Francis of Assisi was the first to introduce the use of the three-dimensional nativity scene to Italy in 1220. The tradition reached its cultural peak in 18th century Naples, Italy.
Crèche figures were an obsession in Naples during the 1700s, and families staged spirited get-togethers each year to see who could create the most impressive scenes. When Don Carlos of Bourbon (the future Charles III of Spain) ruled the port city from 1734 to 1759, he reputedly owned a collection that numbered almost 6,000.
The figures on the tree come from a collection by Mrs. Howard, whose father, Edward Hines, was a lumber baron in Chicago. Loretta Hines Howard started collecting the figurines in 1925.

Loretta died in 1982, and her daughter Linn has continued to acquire new figures. The museum declines to discuss the collection’s value, but a curator, speaking anonymously, says that one figure in good condition, with original costumes, can bring as much as $12,000 to $16,000 at auction.
In keeping with family tradition, Linn Howard's daughter, artist Andréa Selby, joins her mother in an important guiding role to create the display.
The tree is on view till January 6, 2016.
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