Norman Rockwell Museum

There are some terrific conversations about “Behind the Camera” taking place across the web. Join in!

Illustrator James Gurney has a particularly insighful post here: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/10/rockwell-and-camera.html

Links to additional blogs discussing the exhibit are here:

http://openlettersmonthly.com/blog/before-rockwell/

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/10/rockwell-and-camera.html

http://aleapopculture.blogspot.com/2009/10/norman-rockwell-behind-camera-by-ron.html

http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-norman-rockwell-behind-camera-by.html

http://openlettersmonthly.com/blog/before-rockwell/

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/10/rockwell-and-camera.html

http://aleapopculture.blogspot.com/2009/10/norman-rockwell-behind-camera-by-ron.html

http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-norman-rockwell-behind-camera-by.html

http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/2009/10/guest-post-book-review-of-norman.html

http://gizmodo.com/5389780/norman-rockwell-the-original-king-of-the-photoshop

http://www.amazon.com/Norman-Rockwell-Behind-Ron-Schick/product-reviews/0316006939/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/10/norman-rockwell-behind-the-camera/

http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-norman-rockwell-behind-camera.html

http://www.merryweatherbookblog.com/ http://www.jacketflap.com/megablog/index.asp?postid=432777

http://stealsdeals.blogspot.com/2009/11/norman-rockwell-behind-camera.html

http://openlettersmonthly.com/blog/before-rockwell/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/6467302/Mr-American-Pie-Norman-Rockwell.html

http://heckofabunch.blogspot.com/2009/11/norman-rockwell-behind-camera-book.html

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©1943 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum

This article ran on October 10th in The Wall Street Journal.
To read the complete article, please follow this link.
Norman Rockwell’s inspiring and enduring painting

By BRUCE COLE
A hundred thousand people came to see them in Washington and New York, a million more in other major cities across the country. They were visited by a vice president, stars of screen and radio, and even survivors of the Bataan “Death March.” They raised millions of dollars for the purchase of war bonds, and were reproduced in over four million copies.
Sponsored by the Treasury Department and the Saturday Evening Post, the 1943 “Four Freedoms War Bond Exhibition” was our first national “blockbuster.” Exhibited not in museums or galleries, but in department stores for a year during the depths of World War II, it made an already well-known illustrator a household name.
What the crowds came to see were paintings: “Freedom of Speech,” “Freedom of Worship,” “Freedom From Want” and “Freedom From Fear” (now all prominently displayed in the Norman Rockwell Museum). In 1943 each had been reproduced, along with an accompanying essay by leading literary lights including Booth Tarkington and Stephen Vincent Benét, in successive issues of the Saturday Evening Post, a popular magazine for which Norman Rockwell had worked since 1916.
Rockwell discovered his subjects in Franklin Roosevelt’s State of the Union speech of Jan. 6, 1941, delivered 11 months before Pearl Harbor. In it, the president warns of the looming danger posed by aggressor nations, proposes Lend-Lease, and calls for a major increase in armament production. At the speech’s conclusion he looks toward the future, to a world founded upon “four essential freedoms.” To read the complete article, please follow this link.

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Peter Rockwell Carving Grendels Folly Photo 1994

July 11, 2009 through October 25, 2009

As a young man, Peter Rockwell had no interest in pursuing a career as an artist, and intentionally avoided the arts because they were “too much in the family.” A student of English literature at Haverford College, he eventually enrolled in a sculpture class at the prompting of his mother, Mary Rockwell, and “fell head-over-heels in love with it.”

Today a noted sculptor and art historian, Peter Rockwell is the youngest son of legendary American illustrator, Norman Rockwell. His vibrant, animated works, inspired by circus acrobats, animals in motion, gargoyles, and monsters are featured in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, The Bridgeport Museum of American Art, and the Norman Rockwell Museum, which holds the largest compilation of his art. A leading scholar of the history of stone carving, he has documented his knowledge in The Art of Stoneworking, his highly-regarded reference guide. An outstanding collection of the artist’s bronze, marble, and limestone sculptures will be on view on our pastoral landscape in celebration of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s fortieth anniversary.

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Posted on September 18, 2009
Norman Rockwell Museum announces the honoring of Barbara Nessim as its first Artist Laureate. Nessim, an internationally known artist, illustrator, and educator, also served on the Museum’s Board of Trustees from 1999 until 2008. The award will be presented to Nessim on behalf of the Museum’s new Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies during its annual Board of Trustees meeting, to be held on Saturday, September, 26.

“We are honored to award our inaugural Artist Laureate award to Barbara Nessim,” says Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO of Norman Rockwell Museum. “The commendation of this award recognizes Barbara’s exceptional skills as an influential visual communicator and an early visionary in the digital arts. Barbara’s ongoing dedication to the Museum, where she has worked closely with curatorial staff, and served as a passionate advocate for the Museum’s expanded collection mission continues as she lends her vision and support- connecting the Museum to new illustration communities and younger artists.” [...]

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Posted on September 16, 2009
Norman Rockwell Museum is celebrating the release of a new memoir that offers a deeply personal view of Norman Rockwell, and brings vividly to life the place and people of rural New England in the 1940s. “The Unknown Rockwell: A Portrait of Two American Families” tells the story of the Edgerton and Rockwell families, next-door neighbors for 10 years in West Arlington, Vermont. Different in many respects- the Edgertons were a long-time farming family, while the Rockwells moved to Vermont from the urbane artist community of New Rochelle, New York- they found common ground in the values of work and decency, and forged a lasting friendship. Now, six decades later, Buddy Edgerton, who was a young teen when he first met Rockwell and frequently modeled for the artist, has written the story of his upbringing and created an intimate, affectionate portrait of the famous family who lived next door. [...]

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Posted on September 16, 2009
Norman Rockwell Museum announces a lively series of events planned for the month of October, including the last chance to view three of its popular 40th anniversary exhibitions- “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell” (through October 12); “The Fantastical Faces of Peter Rockwell: A Sculptor’s Retrospective” (through October 25); and “A Day in the Life: Norman Rockwell’s Stockbridge Studio” (through November 1). Other highlights include a book release celebration for an intimate new memoir about Norman Rockwell (from the perspective of his next-door neighbor), an inspiring month-long exhibition featuring works by the artists of Community Access to the Arts, and the opportunity to take in the area’s fall foliage with a guided tour of the Museum’s historic estate.

Special Events

Book Release Celebration
“The Unknown Rockwell: A Portrait of Two American Families”
Thursday, October 8, 2 to 5 p.m.
Join authors Bud Edgerton and Nan O’Brien to celebrate the release of their intimate new memoir, which takes a fascinating look at Norman Rockwell and his family from the unique perspective of a close friend, model, and longtime neighbor, and reveals the existence of a previously unknown Rockwell portrait. A book-signing and reading by the authors will follow. Kids 18 and under are free. Adults free with Museum admission.
[...]

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Posted on September 11, 2009
Arts leaders from across Massachusetts will gather at the Norman Rockwell Museum Friday, Sept. 18 with Congressman John Olver to highlight the arts sector’s role in the U.S. economic recovery effort. Olver will formally announce the release of more than $1.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to non-profit arts organizations across Massachusetts. The stimulus funds come from a $50 million ARRA appropriation to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). ARRA funds were then made available to Massachusetts arts organizations via separate programs administered by the NEA, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), and the New England Foundation for the Arts. A full list of arts stimulus grants is below. The announcement begins at 1 p.m.

“The arts sector is a vital contributor to the economic life of Western Massachusetts, and a major component of the creative economy statewide,” said Olver. “These grants will help preserve jobs in this sector while also ensuring that our arts organizations continue to provide public programs that enrich our communities and educate our young people.” [...]

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Fundraiser with national/international non-profit experience to occupy top development position
Posted on September 10, 2009

Norman Rockwell Museum announced today the hiring of Charles Urquhart, an experienced fundraiser with strong family ties to the Berkshires, as Associate Director for Museum Advancement, the Museum’s top development position. Urquhart began work at the Museum on September 9.

“I am delighted to welcome Charlie to our Museum leadership at this exciting time,” says Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO of Norman Rockwell Museum. “We are heading into the fall of our 40th anniversary, following a successful and rewarding year of celebration and new initiatives.” [...]

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Norman Rockwell Museum’s 40th anniversary:
WAMC Northeast Public Radio live broadcast from Norman Rockwell Museum July 9, 2009
July 20, 2009. Listen.

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Interested in an opportunity for Scouts to complete an art-based badge? The Museum offers programs designed to deepen Scouts’ understanding of the life and work of Norman Rockwell while fulfilling certain badge requirements. Programs are available for selected levels of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Visit www.nrm.org for program descriptions or call 413.298.4100, ext. 260, for more information. Advance reservations required. Unable to bring your group to the Museum? Please ask if an Outreach Program is available.

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