"Christmas Portrait" is the first Christmas album and ninth studio album by the American duo Carpenters, released on October 13, 1978. This album features a re-recorded version of their classic holiday song "Merry Christmas Darling," which Karen Carpenter requested. It also includes two versions of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," one of which is a slower rendition recorded in 1974.
The album cover, designed by Robert Tanenbaum, is inspired by Norman Rockwell's 1960 painting "Triple Self-Portrait," originally featured on The Saturday Evening Post.
The standard CD version, released in 1984, compiled selected tracks from the Carpenters' two Christmas albums into a 70-minute program, remixed to include a previously lost choral track in "Ave Maria." A limited release of the original album was also made available in West Germany. In 1996, the Christmas Collection was issued internationally, combining Christmas Portrait with their subsequent album An Old-Fashioned Christmas.
The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in April 1998 for shipping one million copies in the U.S. It has seen multiple re-entries on the Billboard 200, reaching various peak positions over the years, including No. 67 in January 2019 and No. 56 in January 2020. As of November 2014, the Christmas Portrait: Special Edition was the twenty-third best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S. since the SoundScan era began, with nearly two million copies sold.
Overall, Christmas Portrait remains a beloved holiday classic, reflecting the Carpenters' signature sound and style.
