About This Stamp
In 2025, the U.S. Postal Service issues the sixth of 12 stamps in the newest Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Snake begins January 29, 2025, and ends on February 16, 2026.
Beginning in 2020, in observance of the Lunar New Year holiday, the U.S. Postal Service introduced its third Lunar New Year series. This is the sixth Forever® stamp in that series, which will continue through 2031 with stamps for the Year of the Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original art by Camille Chew.
The stamp features a colorful three-dimensional mask depicting a snake. Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon or lion dances, often performed during Lunar New Year parades, artist Camille Chew’s three-dimensional designs are a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk-art crafts created during this auspicious time of year.
Chew constructed the three-dimensional snake mask out of hand printed paper, then cut, scored, and folded it into shape. She then embellished the mask with acrylic paint and other paper elements, like flowers and tassels, and covered the back of the mask in a layer of papier-mâché. The mask was then photographed on a white background for this series.
Those born in the Year of the Snake, the sixth sign in the Chinese zodiac, are said to be quiet, wise, and deep-thinking making them proficient musicians, philosophers, writers, and teachers. A snake year is sometimes referred to as a “little dragon year” because it follows the dragon on the zodiac. 2025 marks the year of the Wood Snake.
The Year of the Snake stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp in panes of 20. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Stamp Artist
Camille Chew
Camille Chew grew up in Ithaca, New York, in a family that encouraged creative expression. She studied fine art with a concentration in printmaking at Alfred University and is currently pursuing her MFA in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design.
After college, Chew used social media to promote her art while interning at a print shop in her hometown. Through her online posts, she gained her first clients. Since then, she has been working as a printmaker, exhibiting artist, and freelance illustrator. Her client list includes Quirk Books, the Asian American Literary Review, Quanta Magazine, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and CICADA magazine.
With a colorful, graphic style that incorporates intricate patterns and symbols, Chew uses her work to explore themes of mythology and fantasy. A magical flair gives her art a quirky sensibility while clean lines provide a contemporary take on her subjects.
Chew lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island.
She was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to design the 12-year Lunar New Year stamp series that began in 2020 and will continue through 2031.
Photographer
Sally Andersen-Bruce
Sally Andersen-Bruce has been the president and sole proprietor of her photography business for more than 30 years. Based in Connecticut, her assignments have taken her all over the world for clients such as IBM, Polaroid, AT&T, Pepsi, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal.
Her portfolio includes photographic content for corporations, institutions, and publications, focusing on executives, products, food, architecture, financial reports, and websites.
In addition to her commercial work, she has collaborated with several museums, including the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont; and the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.
Andersen-Bruce’s photographs have appeared on numerous U.S. postage stamps, among them Classic American Dolls (1997), Neuter and Spay (2002), Nutcrackers (2008), Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet (2010), Weather Vanes (2012), Gingerbread Houses (2013), and Diwali, first issued in 2016. Most recently, her photograph appeared on the 2025 Lunar New Year • Year of the Snake stamp.