Truly an American treasure, the art of Currier & Ives. A part of our rich history of storytelling through art. Currier and Ives was a successful American printmaking firm headed by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) and James Merritt Ives (1824–1895) based in New York City from 1834 to 1907. The prolific firm produced prints from paintings by fine artists as black and white lithographs that were hand colored.