Mosaic of scene from The Snowman to be unveiled at Brighton Museum

The mosaic, featuring the book’s famous flying scene, is made up of thousands of individual festive photos.

It will be unveiled at the museum on Tuesday, December 4, and will remain on show until January 6.

Special edition 50p features The Snowman – and Brighton’s Palace Pier

The Snowman was created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs in 1978, narrated entirely through hand drawn illustrations; it tells the magical story of a boy whose snowman comes to life.

Fans of The Snowman were invited to upload photographs of their fondest festive memories or moments from the past 40 years to form a giant tribute piece.

The mosaic of the Snowman flying through the skies with the boy was created by artist Helen Marshall of The Peoples Picture to celebrate the enduring Christmas classic book.

Helen said: “I have really enjoyed seeing everybody’s submissions roll in one by one for My Snowman. The pictures as a whole reveal the full range of human emotion expressing love, loss and celebration which are the ultimate themes of The Snowman™ story.

“Some of the pictures also have stories that are compelling and important. There’s been an overwhelming response from the public and we’ve loved looking through the images together. It’s been incredibly moving to see such varied photographs submitted alongside personal stories and family memories.”

Izzy Richardson, head of brand for The Snowman, said: “Creating a unique piece of artwork made up of photographs from members of the public is an incredible way to pay tribute to Raymond Briggs’ beloved Snowman in the anniversary year.

“We have been absolutely thrilled with the response to this project; to see so many magical memories shared by Snowman fans already are demonstrative of the intrinsic role The Snowman plays in our festive traditions every year, and some of the stories shared have been extremely touching.”

The final artwork will be donated to Raymond’s charity of choice, Sussex children’s hospice Chestnut Tree House to be auctioned off as part of its annual festive fundraising initiative.