End of the Line Santa

Every great journey must come to an end.

The caboose in Santa's hand is bright red, lettered EOL on the side — End of the Line — and painted right into the frame beneath it: Simpich © 2006. Robert Simpich designed this Santa as the final piece the doll shop would ever release, and he said so in the piece itself.

Then look at what this Santa is wearing. Not the great fur-trimmed coat — a suede work apron, its pockets filled with a hammer, a ruler, a pencil, a paint rag, a candy cane, and a paintbrush with the color still on its tip. Half of it is a toymaker's kit. The other half looks suspiciously like the working tools of the doll shop. It is hard to hold this piece and not see the artist standing inside the Santa.

At his feet, a shaggy dog in a red collar sits looking up — waiting on him the way dogs wait on someone who is almost done working for the day.

And Santa is waving. One hand holds the finished caboose; the other is raised. Hello or goodbye — in 2006, it was both.

Robert Simpich, who founded the doll shop with his wife, Jan, sculpted the original design; each piece in the edition was then cast, hand-painted, and dressed in hand-sewn clothing in the Simpich doll shop, and set on an oval wooden base. Released at the end of 2006 in an edition of 750, End of the Line Santa is the final Simpich design — and the most sought-after piece in the line. Twenty years on, that has not changed.

This is number 435 of the 750, signed by Robert Simpich.

Details

• Released 2006 — the final Simpich design and the last Santa in the collection

• Limited edition of 750 · this piece is #435, signed by the artist

• Condition: heirloom quality