Below are abstracts to exhibitions curated and presented by The Norman Rockwell Museum available for hosting at appropriate venues. Please contact us if you would like to inquire about the terms and availability of these exhibitions for your institution.
Reference photo for Norman Rockwell's "Boy in a Dining Car, 1946. Photo montage created by Ron Schick. Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, IL. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum.
An exhibition organized by
Norman Rockwell Museum
Photography has been a benevolent tool for artists from Thomas Eakins and Edgar Degas to David Hockney. And to illustrators, always on the lookout for better ways to meet deadlines, the camera has long been a natural ally. But the thousands of photographs Norman Rockwell created as studies for his iconic images are a case apart. A natural storyteller, Rockwell envisioned his narrative scenarios down to the smallest detail. Yet at the easel he was an absolute literalist who rarely painted directly from his imagination.
From the beginning of his career Rockwell employed professional models, but in time the long hours of static poses impeded his evolving naturalism. Adopting photography in the late 1930’s, he began to call on friends and neighbors to model and bring new flesh-and-blood realism to his work. Their cooperative enthusiasm in front of the camera and unassuming tolerance for his demands enabled Rockwell to capture difficult poses and nuanced expressions more spontaneous than any professional model could deliver. Photography opened a door to the keenly observed authenticity that defines Norman Rockwell’s art. And for us today it is a revelation to discover that so many of his most memorable characters were, in fact, real people.
Curator and author Ron Schick is the first to undertake a frame-by-frame study of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s newly digitized photography archive, the product of a just-completed two-year “Save America’s Treasures” project that has preserved the artist’s archive of almost 20,000 negatives and made accessible the full range of the artist’s photography. His forthcoming book, Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera, will be published by Little, Brown and Company in 2009. The publication will accompany a traveling exhibition to open at the Norman Rockwell Museum in November 2009.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 foot candles for paintings and 5 to 7 foot candles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
An exhibition organized
by the Norman Rockwell Museum
A comprehensive analysis of a significant emerging artistic and literary genre, LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel will examine the use of sequential art as a significant form of visual communication, and place specific emphasis on the art of the contemporary graphic novel. Published in book form, these stand alone stories employ words and pictures to address thought provoking subjects that will serve as the thematic framework for the exhibition. Commentary by artists and curators focusing on recurring subjects, artistic and cultural influences, and the climate that impacts the creative process will be woven throughout the exhibition where contemporary art meets traditional America.
An increasing number of artists are choosing to express themselves through graphic novels, which have received increased recognition in the popular sector, in noted periodicals including The New York Times, The New Yorker and in classrooms, libraries, and bookstores throughout the United States and abroad. A graphic novel employs the technique of cinematographic narrative, developed by comic-book artists, telling the story through metaphors and visual images, particularly images of action.
Graphic novels, or long-form comic books, have started to gain the interest and consideration of the art and literary establishment. Graphic novels, with their antiheroes and visual appeal, are approaching the popularity of the novel. Focused on subjects as diverse as the nature of relationships, the perils of war, and the meaning of life, graphic novels comprise the fastest-growing sections of many bookstores.
LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel will feature over 200 original art works, including paintings, drawings, storyboards, studies, books, photographs, and a documentary film, offering insights into the lives of the artists and the nature of their work. The impact on art discourse and the surrounding public community will be deepened and heightened by the powerful literary element of the exhibition.
Fee: $15,000 for eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents: Approximately 200 original works – paintings, drawings, storyboards, studies, books, photographs, and a documentary film.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 foot candles for paintings and 5 to 7 foot candles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets. Relative humidity levels will be maintained at 50% plus or minus 5%. A stable temperature will be maintained between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The required light level is 18 to 22 foot-candles for paintings and 5 to 7 foot-candles for works on paper and other light restricted objects.
Space: 2300 square feet
An exhibition organized
by the Norman Rockwell Museum
The Norman Rockwell Museum has organized an exhibition of original paintings from the collection of Pfizer Inc by legendary American illustrator, Norman Rockwell. Created for use in advertising campaigns for three pharmaceutical companies and an optical company between 1929 and 1961, these outstanding works celebrate the doctor/patient relationship and portray the physician as a revered figure in mid-twentieth century American culture. Norman Rockwell’s time-honored images will be juxtaposed with original works by noted contemporary illustrators who have explored issues of health and well-being for the major publications of our day.
Fee: $20,000 for an eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents:
- eleven original paintings by Norman Rockwell;
- related advertisements; tear sheets
- thirty-six original artworks created for publication by contemporary artists;
- related photographic material and correspondence;
- introductory panels and extended identification labels included.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: light level -18 to 22 foot candles for paintings and 5 to 7 foot candles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidy-50% plus of minus 5% and temperature 68-72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
Space: 2,283 sq. ft. or 270 lf.
An exhibition organized
by the Norman Rockwell Museum
Nearly a year had gone by since I first made the discovery. It was purely by chance. I was tracking down some information about the spice trade in China when my eye fell upon a curious old leather-bound sketchbook. …Was this sketchbook merely a fantasy, or had I stumbled upon the only surviving record of a lost civilization
— James Gurney
Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time
James Gurney’s Dinotopia bring the worlds of science and the imagination to life by chronicling Arthur and Will Denison’s remarkable experiences on a lost island in vibrant color and meticulous detail. Recounted in words and pictures in the best-selling book series, Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time (1992), Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995), and Dinotopia: First Flight (1999), the artist’s compelling tale has engaged and enchanted readers by inviting them to explore the far reaches of a mysterious destination. Waterfall City, the island’s center of learning, The Hatchery, birthplace of many of Dinotopia’s prehistoric inhabitants, and The Forbidden Mountains, where dinosaurs dare not venture, are just a few of the places described in Arthur Denison’s fictional journal and in the outstanding works on view.
Inspired by a deep and abiding interest in archaeology, lost civilizations, and the art of illustration, James Gurney invites viewers to enter a fantastical world in which dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side. His luminous paintings, beautifully crafted drawings and hand-made models, which are featured in this exhibition, explore the wonders of the distant past through the lens of the imagination. The artist’s original New York Times bestseller, Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time, appears in eighteen languages with over two million copies sold. Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, the next installment in the series, is scheduled for publication in 2007.
Fee: $10,000 for eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents: Approximately 60 original works of art; studies; introductory and biographical panels and object/extended identification labels.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 foot candles for paintings and 5 to 7 foot candles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
Throughout an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Tasha Tudor delighted an international audience with her joyful writings and enchanting images. Among the most beloved artists of our time, she authored over twenty published titles, and her illustrations, or the discussion of her unique lifestyle, are featured in more than one hundred books.
This treasured daughter of New England garnered acclaim for her signature watercolors as well as for her distinctive lifestyle harking back to the mid-nineteenth century. Tudor’s way of living always included significant time devoted to the enjoyment of holiday traditions, which she shared with family and friends. Beginning with the illustrations in her first book published for children, Pumpkin Moonshine, she demonstrated in her professional life a continual interest in depicting holiday stories and scenes.
Tasha Tudor’s Spirit of the Holidays illuminates the season with outstanding and rarely seen examples of the artist’s original art for greeting cards and children’s books created for special holiday celebrations—from Christmas to Valentine’s Day and Easter. Original portraits of Tasha Tudor as a girl by her mother, Rosamond Tudor, delicate childhood drawings, original handwritten manuscripts, miniature doll cards, hand-decorated boxes and Easter eggs, photographs, and almost one hundred first-issue holiday cards dating from the early 1940s onward are among the heartwarming treasures to be enjoyed.
In story after story and picture after picture, her extraordinary art reflects the simple pleasures that can be had in this life by savoring each passing season, celebrating special days, and cherishing the most fleeting of moments.
Fee: $12,000 for eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents: Approximately 175 original works of art; original paintings; books; cards and calendars, studies; manuscripts; doll cards and letters; artifacts including hand-painted goose eggs and hand-decorated floral box; ephemera; introductory and biographical panels and object/extended identification labels.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 footcandles for paintings and 5 to 7 footcandles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
Author and artist David Macaulay has demystified the workings and origins of everything from simple gadgets to elaborate architectural structures. A favorite with readers of all ages, this Caldecott Medal-winning artist is the subject of this exciting exhibition that takes an in-depth look at Macaulay’s artistic process and extensive body of work, including The Way Things Work, Castle, Cathedral, City, Mill, Ship, and Mosque.
Fee: $20,000 for eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents: Approximately 125 original works of art; studies, sketchbooks, foam core models and book dummies; original manuscripts and correspondence; artifacts including hand-built models, reference materials and personally significant objects; documentary and reference photographs: introductory and biographical panels and object/extended indentification labels.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 footcandles for paintings and 5 to 7 footcandles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
With narrative illustration . . . each picture is a link in a chain, and they all exist in counterpoint with the text. And although you want each picture to have impact, just like a jacket, book illustration can be much more subtle. It can be pondered and savored over a period of time.
—Fred Marcellino
Fred Marcellino was a gifted visual communicator whose memorable images have been seen and enjoyed by millions. His illustrations and designs have graced the covers and pages of hundreds of noteworthy literary works for children and adults, enhancing and expanding upon the words and ideas of many prominent authors.
This exhibition features award-winning works of original art for best-selling novels and children’s books including A Handmaid’s Tale, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Accidental Tourist, and The White Hotel, as well as A Rat’s Tale, Puss in Boots, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Wainscott Weasel and I, Crocodile among others.
Fee: $10,000 for eight to twelve week exhibition period. Extended bookings are possible at a prorated fee.
Contents: 100 framed artworks requiring 275 running feet approximately, introductory, biographical and section panels, object/extended identification labels, 2 calligraphy journals, 26 original studies and reference materials, and 4 mounted photo panels featuring the artist.
Security: High, all works must be within sight of a trained security officer/staff member at all times during public hours.
Environment: Light level -18 to 22 footcandles for paintings and 5 to 7 footcandles for works on paper and other light restricted objects. Humidity -50% plus or minus 5% and temperature 68 – 72 degrees, no direct sunlight and no direct contact with light fixtures or heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical outlets.
