Announced by the USPS July 24th:

Five centuries ago, Francesco d’Ubertino Verdi (1494–1557), the Italian Renaissance painter known as Bachiacca, proved himself to be a versatile and popular Florentine artist. Today, his work still vividly evokes the timeless traditions of Christmas.

This stamp features a detail of Bachiacca’s oil-and-gold-on-panel painting “Madonna and Child,” which dates from the early 1520s, showing the Christ child clutching a bouquet of jasmine, a symbol of divine love, alongside the Virgin Mary’s profile, left shoulder and right hand.

This painting is part of the Jack and Belle Linsky Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. William J. Gicker served as art director for this stamp, and Greg Breeding was the designer.

“Madonna and Child” is being issued as a Forever stamp and will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Updated July 26th:
This stamp will be issued October 13th in Santa Fe, NM. Ceremony location? Photo by Lloyd A. de Vries, taken May 5, 2017.

Updated August 30th:

On October 3, 2018, in Santa Fe, NM, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the “Madonna and Child” by Bachiacca stamp (Forever priced at the First-Class Mail rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive booklet of 20 stamps (Item 682200). The stamp will go on sale nationwide October 3, 2018, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

This Christmas stamp features a detail of Madonna and Child, an oil-and-gold-on-panel painting by Italian Renaissance artist Francesco d’Ubertino Verdi (1494–1557), known as Bachiacca. Dating from the early 1520s, the painting is part of the Jack and Belle Linsky Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. William J. Gicker served as art director for this stamp, and Greg Breeding was the designer.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – “Madonna and Child” by Bachiacca Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by February 3, 2019.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: “Madonna and Child” by Bachiacca Stamp
Item Number: 682200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-Sided Booklet of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: October 3, 2018, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Art Director: William J. Gicker, Washington, DC
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlotesville, VA
Typographer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Art: Bachiacca
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 300,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America
Colors: Pantone 8003, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.77 x 1.05 in./19.558 x 26.67 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.91 x 1.19 in./23.114 x 30.226 mm
Full Booklet Size (w x h): 5.743 x 2.375 in./145.872 x 60.325 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 11.486 x 9.5 in./ 291.74 x 241.3 mm
Plate Size: 800 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by five (5) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: “Madonna and Child by Bachiacca” Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • USPS logo • Barcode • Plate number in peel strip area
Back: ©2018 USPS in peel strip area • Promotional text in peel strip area

Added September 8th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color postmark measures 2.71″x1.46″The B&W pictorial measures 2.36″x1.43″