What is a Masterpiece?
Imagine having your personal history - the stories and experiences that are uniquely yours - captured visually in a customized piece of fine art. That is what a Masterpiece is. It's a biographical work of fine art.

What does the term “celebrant” mean?
This term refers to the person who receives the gift of biographical art. The celebrant is the person whose life is being celebrated through the telling of his or her life story.

What does the term “patron” mean?
The patron is the person (or group) who commissions a piece of biographical art. If you commission a Masterpiece for someone else, then we would consider you to be the patron.

What will the Masterpiece look like?
Every Masterpiece we create is unique and custom-made for the celebrant. During the initial phase of development (which takes about three months), we will come up with two possible concepts for your biographical artwork. Then you get to choose! We will present drawings, renderings and/or mockups for your selection and approval before we proceed with creating the Masterpiece itself.

Is a Masterpiece a biographical book?
While that is certainly a part of what we do, our unique service is so much more involved. A Masterpiece generally includes a beautiful, biographical book as one of its components, but will also feature other three-dimensional elements which tell the celebrant’s story. That may be a miniature of the celebrant’s childhood home presented in exacting detail. Or small porcelain dolls representing the celebrant’s children. Every Masterpiece is a fine work of art—an heirloom the celebrant will want to keep on display.

What makes biographical art different from other “personalized” gifts?
The beauty of giving a Masterpiece is that it is a one-of-a-kind gift. While another company’s idea of personalization may be engraving names and dates on manufactured items, that is not at all what we do. A Masterpiece is not a catalog item. In fact, we won’t even know what it will look like until we go through extensive interview process with the celebrant and decide the best way to visually represent them based on their personality, preferences and experiences. The amount of thought, research and creativity involved is far beyond any other personalized gift you can buy. So when the final Masterpiece is unveiled, the celebrant will delight in knowing theirs is the only one of its kind.

How much will it cost?
Living Celebrations currently offers three different biographical art options. Our premier offering is the Masterpiece that begins at $25,000 and up. Our mid-range Legacy Pieces start at $5,000 and up. And our smallest offering, the Salute, starts at just $1,500.

How much time does it take?
Generally, a Masterpiece takes between six and nine months to produce, a Legacy Piece takes three to four months, and a Salute takes six to eight weeks.

Can it be a surprise?
Absolutely! Because what we do is so unusual, the celebrant will have no idea what to expect. While they will know we are creating something based on their life story, the actual outcome will be a complete surprise. This heightens the celebrant’s experience at the unveiling of their biographical artwork. When they are finally presented with the finished piece, they gasp in amazement, laugh with delight and then shed tears at the sheer magnitude of the gift. Find out what previous celebrants have said: read their testimonials.

My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 6 weeks, can you help?
Of course! We will provide you with a beautiful handmade gift certificate to present on the occasion that will give them a small taste of what’s to come.

Do you protect the privacy of your clients?
Protecting the privacy of our patrons and celebrants is always our top priority. We respect the fact that we may receive sensitive information during the interview process. You can rest assured that we will never present your personal history for public consumption. In fact, all of our artists and staff have signed contracts prohibiting them from divulging information about our patrons and celebrants to outside parties.

My father is a very private person. How do you handle that?
The beauty of commissioning biographical art is that the celebrant is in complete control of the story. Your father can decide what stories are told and how they are told. Then when his artwork is complete, he may share it with as few or as many people as he wishes.

Is a Masterpiece a scrapbook?
Living Celebrations is not a scrapbook company and we do not create photo albums. Our biographical artworks are museum-quality fine art pieces and every one is as unique as the celebrant whose story it tells.

Do you do videos?
Living Celebrations may videotape interviews when in production of a Masterpiece. However, we do not do video production or repackage interview tapes for sale. We use old world techniques such as such as calligraphy, letterpress printing, custom illustrations, handmade papers, models, miniatures, and the like, and we take great pride in the expert artistry of every piece.

Do you do portraits?
Yes, we certainly can include a portrait in your biographical artwork. In fact, nearly every piece we have created has contained a painted likeness of the celebrant. Visit our gallery to see examples.

How do we begin?
You’re ready to get started – that’s great! Contact us today so that we can discuss the particulars with you and begin the interviewing process.