ABOUT THE MUSEUM

Land Acknowledgement

It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land on which the Norman Rockwell Museum was built. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

MUSEUM HISTORY

Founded in 1969 with the help of Norman and Molly Rockwell, Norman Rockwell Museum is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of Rockwell’s work and his contributions to society, popular culture, and social commentary. The Museum, which is accredited by the American Association of Museums, is the most popular year-round cultural attraction in the Berkshires.

The Museum houses the world’s largest and most significant collection of Rockwell’s work, including 998 original paintings and drawings. Rockwell lived in Stockbridge for the last 25 years of his life. Rockwell’s Stockbridge studio, moved to the Museum site, is open to the public from May through October, and features original art materials, his library, furnishings, and personal items. The Museum also houses the Norman Rockwell Archives, a collection of more than 100,000 items, including working photographs, letters, personal calendars, fan mail, and business documents.

Having spent its first 24 years at the Old Corner House on Stockbridge’s Main Street, the Museum moved to its present location, a 36-acre site overlooking the Housatonic River Valley, in 1993. Internationally renowned architect Robert A. M. Stern designed the Museum gallery building.

One of the great charms of the Museum is its location. Many of Rockwell’s world-renowned images were drawn from the surrounding community and its residents. “The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, must be one of the most popular museums in the world,” wrote author Paul Johnson, “crammed from dawn till dusk with delighted visitors crowding round the originals of much-loved paintings. And one of the further pleasures of this enchanting place is that in the nearby little towns you can recognize among the locals the children and grandchildren of those whom Rockwell painted with dedicated veracity.”

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

NORMAN ROCKWELL’S STUDIO

Rockwell occupied some 20 studios during his life, but it was the last one—seen below—that he called his “best studio yet.” The building was originally located in the backyard of his home on South Street in Stockbridge, Mass. In 1976, toward the end of his life, Rockwell left the studio and its contents to Norman Rockwell Museum. The building was cut in two and moved to the Museum’s grounds in 1986.

The Museum has long presented the studio as it was when Rockwell passed away. Now, we have turned back the clock to an earlier, active period in his career: October 1960, when he was hard at work on his painting, Golden Rule, which would later appear on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Enjoy this special glimpse into Rockwell’s surroundings, working process, and sources of artistic inspiration…just as they were in 1960!

Norman Rockwell’s Studio will re-open:
May 1, 2023

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Girl Reading the Post, 1941. Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 1, 1941. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1941 SEPS: Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.

NORMAN ROCKWELL’S
323 SATURDAY EVENING POST COVERS

For nearly 50 years, millions of Americans brought Norman Rockwell’s art into their homes, enjoying the artist’s Saturday Evening Post covers while seated in their favorite chairs, surrounded by their belongings in the company of their families. This intimate connection with Rockwell’s art made his images a part of the fabric of American lives. This comprehensive exhibition of original Saturday Evening Post cover tear sheets features each of Norman Rockwell’s illustrations for the publication, created between 1916 and 1963.

MAIN STREET STOCKBRIDGE AT CHRISTMAS

Rockwell’s 1967 painting, Main Street Stockbridge at Christmas (Home for Christmas) has come to represent the epitome of the “quintessential New England town.”

Stockbridge Mainstreet at Christmas (Home for Christmas) (detail), Norman Rockwell. 1967. Oil on canvas, 26 ½ x 95 ½”. Story illustration for McCall’s, December 1967. Norman Rockwell Museum Collection. ©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. All rights reserved.

 

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), "Freedom of Speech," 1943

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom of Speech, 1943. Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.

"Freedom from Want," Norman Rockwell, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©1943 SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom From Want, 1943. Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March, 6, 1943. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.

 

"Freedom of Worship," 1943, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978). Oil on canvas, 46” x 35 ½”. Story illustration for "The Saturday Evening Post," February 27, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©1943 SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom of Workship, 1943. Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 27, 1943. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), "Freedom From Fear," 1943

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom From Fear, 1943. Illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March, 13, 1943. From the collection of Norman Rockwell Museum. © 1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN. All rights reserved.

THE FOUR FREEDOMS

In his January 1941 address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. In the spring of 1942, Norman Rockwell was working on a piece commissioned by the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army, a painting of a machine gunner in need of ammunition. Posters of the gunner, titled Let’s Give Him Enough and On Time, were distributed to ordnance plants throughout the country to encourage production. But Rockwell wanted to do more for the war effort and decided he would illustrate Roosevelt’s four freedoms. While mulling it over, Rockwell, by chance, attended a town meeting where one man rose among his neighbors and voiced an unpopular view. That night Rockwell awoke with the realization that he could paint the freedoms best from the perspective of his own hometown experiences using everyday, simple scenes such as his own town meeting.

The paintings were a phenomenal success. After their publication, the Post received 25,000 requests for reprints. In May 1943, representatives from the Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a joint campaign to sell war bonds and stamps. They would send the Four Freedomspaintings along with 1,000 original cartoons and paintings by other illustrators and original manuscripts from The Saturday Evening Post on a national tour.

Traveling to sixteen cities, the exhibition was visited by more than a million people who purchased 133 million dollars in war bonds and stamps. Bonds were sold in denominations of $25, $100, and $1,000, and each person who purchased one received a set of prints of the four paintings.

Learn more…

ARCHIVES

The Norman Rockwell Archive contains more than 100,000 photographs, letters, and other rare mementos.

A visit to the Museum is an uplifting experience. Founded in 1969 with the help of Norman and Molly Rockwell, the Museum is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of the work of America’s favorite artist. The Museum’s changing Norman Rockwell exhibitions present an illustrated chronicle of American life and showcase our nation’s ideals of kindness, tolerance, democracy, and freedom, as interpreted through the artist’s spirit, wisdom, and gentle humor.

New York Times photo of Famous Artists School Collection at NRM

ANNUAL REPORT

The Annual Report for Norman Rockwell Museum Fiscal Year 2019

A visit to the Museum is an uplifting experience. Founded in 1969 with the help of Norman and Molly Rockwell, the Museum is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of the work of America’s favorite artist.

This Annual Report summarizes the strides that Norman Rockwell Museum has taken in the Fiscal Year 2019. Read a message from the Director, FY 2019 aquisitions, exhibitions, publications, people, measures of success, and the Annual Report archive.

Read more…

MUSEUM LEADERSHIP

DIRECTOR
Laurie Norton Moffatt……Director/CEO

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Board of Trustees 2023-2024
September 8, 2023

OFFICERS (names are repeated in list below):
Dolf Berle, Chair & President
Mary K. Grant, PhD, Vice Chair & 1st Vice President
Peter C. Williams, 2nd Vice President
Roberta McCulloch-Dews, 3rd Vice President
Tom Ruffing, Treasurer
Jill Hai, Clerk

TRUSTEES:
Robert Babcock
George Bain
Dolf Berle
Allida Black
Peter Blum
Alexander J. Brown
Terry Burman
Alice A. Carter
Douglas Clark
Anthony M. Consigli
John V. Frank
Mary K. Grant, PhD
Jill Hai
Louise A. Holland
Deborah D. Hoover
Robert Horvath
David C. Howse
Jessica Kaplan
Richard Kelly
Jorja-Ann P. Marsden
Jeanine McAdam
Roberta McCulloch-Dews
Louis Henry Mitchell
Robyn Phillips-Pendleton
Ann Daly Printon
Daisy Rockwell
Kim and Tom Ruffing
David Schwartz
John T. Spellman
Peter Williams

TRUSTEES EMERITI:
Lila W. Berle
Ruby Bridges
Walter & Mary Jo Engels
William W. Hargreaves
Paul W. Ivory
Valerie Kennedy
David L. Klausmeyer
Mark A. Krentzman
Wendell Minor
Anne H. Morgan
Perri Petricca
Thomas L. Pulling
Steven Spielberg
Richard B. Wilcox
Jamie R. Williamson

NATIONAL COUNCIL 2023 – 2024:
Elizabeth Bender & William Zavarello
Jeffrey & Brenda Bleustein
Elizabeth Broun
Timothy & Susan Fidler
Nancy Fitzpatrick & Lincoln Russell
Audrey and Ralph Friedner
David and Marita Glodt
Tom & Sue Kornacki
Barry & Pamela Kriebel
Ted & Betsy Lewin
Steven Lomazow
Joanna Miller
Michael Shane Neal
Deval & Diane Patrick
Ramelle and Michael Pulitzer
Chuck Pyle & Tina Hittenberger
Tucker Reed
Elihu & Susan Rose
John & Laura Savio
Fred Seibert
Ted Slavin
Irving and Carol Smokler
Arthur & Saundra Susser
Judy Francis Zankel

MUSEUM STAFF

Main Phone: 413-298-4100

Name/Dept. Phone Number
General Information
Visitor Services 413-931-2221
Museum Store 800-742-9450
Human Resources 413-931-2228
Name/Dept. Position
Business Office
Jill Gellert Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer
Lesley Hamilton Director of Finance & Administration
Curatorial
Stephanie Plunkett Chief Curator
KL Pereira Archivist & Curatorial Information Manager
Thomas Mesquita Director of Collections and Exhibitions
Joe Tonetti Exhibitions Manager
Barbara Rundback Registrar
Maria Tucker Curatorial Assistant
Jana Purdy Special Project Coordinator
Development
Hilary Dunne Ferrone, CFRE Chief Philanthropy Officer
Bailey Girvan Senior Development Officer
Alexa Wichowsky Membership Manager
Audience and Learning Engagement
Kathryn Potts Chief Learning and Engagement Officer
Rich Bradway Digital Innovation Officer
Karen Lrhazi Technology Coordinator
Alyssa Blumenthal Director of Public Operations & Visitor Engagement
Director’s Office
Laurie Norton Moffatt Director/CEO
Laurie Tang Executive Assistant to the Director/CEO
Facilities & Safety
Chris Kupernik Director of Facilities & Safety
Human Resources
Tiffani Thomas-Silverman Director of People and Culture
Marketing/PR
Margit Hotchkiss Chief Marketing Officer
Riley Andersen Marketing Associate
Museum Store
Mike Duffy Manager of Museum Store
Kyle Hatch E-Commerce/Sales Associate
Safety & Security
Joseph Harrigan Security and Safety Manager
Visitor Services
Sonya Moreau Visitor Service Coordinator
Jennifer Wachter Visitor Services Coordinator
Warehouse
Jennifer Sommerville Warehouse Coordinator