A Santa Fe, N.M., artist designed this contemporary copper Nativity.
A wooden manger scene from Germany is accented with silvered cedar.
The living room tree is filled with
handmade glass ornaments from
Russia. This ball above is painted
with a troika, a sled.
The Clines display their creche from Italy across the dining room buffet.
The twisted
trunk of a handwrought iron tree
from Hungary, right, draws the eye
upward to 14 Swarovski crystal
stars suspended from its branches.
Five platinum trees are grouped in the entry foyer and staircase landing of the home of L.P. and Dianne Cline. The trees have an iridescent finish to their branches that, when combined with white lights and glittered
garland, shimmer in the reflection of mirrors.Dianne and L.P. Cline have been traveling to Europe and Russia on purchasing trips for their businesses since 1990; first sourcing antiques, then Russian artwork.
With each visit abroad, the couple also has added to their personal collection of sacred and secular Christmas symbols. During the holidays, the Clines display six Nativity scenes and a dozen Christmas trees whose designs represent the talent of artisans in Germany, Poland, England, Italy, Mexico and the former Soviet Union, as well as the United States.
“Dianne and I are cousins, so I have followed this from Day 1,” says Nancye Pikciunas. “They are so into the Russian art that everything they do – the arrangements, any decoration – is creative and ties in with the art. The ornaments he brings from Russia are wonderful. I’m impressed by it all.”
The Clines operated an antiques business for 20 years before narrowing their focus to Russian artwork. They opened LP Cline Gallery, dedicated entirely to Russian artwork, on Broad Street in 1995.
“The way Russian art affects you – we call it masculine emotion. It reveals the soul and spirit of the artist,” Dianne says. “Every painting reflects the history of the Russian people. That’s what gives it its value in the marketplace; yet it’s the love it expresses that makes it desirable to own for yourself.”