annual report 2oo5–2oo6 president’s letter The Norman Rockwell Museum tional curriculum; and emphasize is a wonderfully fascinating place, Norman Rockwell’s preeminence made so, as I’ve often said over the in the field of American illustration years, because it is at the same time by judiciously collecting important so simple and yet so complex … works of illustrators who influenced, somewhat like Norman Rockwell’s or were influenced by, Norman art. His messages may be simple Rockwell … an exciting new direc- and accessible, but his vision and tion just voted by the Board in June. his artistry in executing his vision were anything but simple. As I end my tenure as President of the Board, I must acknowledge my earnest Our incredibly talented staff makes admiration for Laurie Norton Moffatt, what we do at the Museum look our esteemed Director and CEO, for simple, and how they manage to do her extraordinary, enthusiastic leader- so much with so little never ceases to ship … and my deep gratitude to our amaze. Again this year, they mounted National Council, our Illustrators a huge number of exhibits character- Advisory, and our very dedicated ized by elegance in artistic presentation Trustees for their time, talent, and and, importantly for us, in scholarship. generosity. You would be hard pressed They make it look simple because to find a more devoted group of advo- they are so good at what they do. cates. Congratulations and best wishes as well to Dan Cain, who will succeed Both the Board of Trustees and staff me as Board President. remain focused on a set of simple to state, challenging to achieve, strate- I invite you to enjoy this annual gies: conserve our priceless collection report and I encourage you to visit the and the facilities that accommodate Museum often in the coming year. it; find innovative ways to share our collection with a national and world- Sincerely, wide audience; digitize our archives for their protection and for easier research access (ProjectNORMAN); Lee Williams promote our Four Freedoms educa- President 1 director’s report Community engagement and con- The Art of Exploration; Tasha nection are at the heart of all we do Tudor’s Spirit of the Holidays; at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art Rockwell’s narrative pictures invite of James Gurney; A Rockwell conversation everywhere they are Rediscovered: The Tale of Two experienced, whether it’s during Paintings; and Frederic Remington a Museum visit in Stockbridge, in and the American Civil War: A Ghost homes, classrooms, and museums Story. These wonderful exhibi- around the world, on the Web or in tions, assembled by our talented the news. Rockwell’s art invites people curatorial team and several guest to engage in the sharing of stories curators, reflected the richness of across generations, inspires classroom illustration art that surrounds us discussions that connect histori- and delighted visitors of all ages. cal moments with current events, examines the role of the individual The Museum also shared its exhibi- in making history, and helps com- tions with the country–Building munities come together through Books: The Art of David Macaulay, shared values. Norman Rockwell’s art featuring wonderful architectural expresses, with equal parts of com- drawings that help explain the built passion and hopefulness, both our world, was on view at the Los Angeles cultural diversity and our humanity. Public Library. Generously sponsored by Helen and Peter Bing, the exhibi- Exhibitions tion is scheduled for exhibition at nine This year we presented an extraor- national venues. The Museum has dinary line-up of illustration exhibi- also curated a new Norman Rockwell tions in addition to our Norman exhibition that will travel to numer- Rockwell collections that are always ous American cities from 2007 to on view: The Art of The New Yorker: 2010, called American Chronicles. Eighty Years in the Vanguard; It has been funded, in part, by the Windblown: Contemporary American National Endowment of the Arts Weathervanes; National Geographic: through its American Masterpieces 2 grant program. The Tasha Tudor understand Rockwell’s oeuvre and and National Geographic exhibitions its impact on 20th-century America are also traveling, along with the and beyond. I believe that Norman Museum’s ever popular Saturday Rockwell would have embraced this Evening Post covers exhibition larger vision for the Museum, as he which continues to tour the nation. personally was a discerning collec- tor of illustration art—an impor- New Directions tant collection that the Museum Illustration art illuminates our world. is in the process of acquiring. It shapes, interprets, and reflects society. Visual communication, Today Rockwell’s original artwork is defined by printed images and the greatly admired and eagerly sought ever increasing array of electronic after by collectors and museums media, is as important today as it was throughout the world and has cor- during Rockwell’s era, if not more respondingly escalated in value. A so. Norman Rockwell Museum is record-breaking sale of a Rockwell dedicated to deepening an under- work occurred this year: Norman standing of the tremendous influence Rockwell’s Homecoming Marine sold and impact visual culture has made, at a Sotheby’s auction to a private col- and continues to make, on society. lector for $9.2 million. As Rockwell This year, the Norman Rockwell art has, in recent years, undergone a Museum’s Board of Trustees cast an reappraisal and a revived apprecia- historic vote to broaden the Museum’s tion—for its artistic merit as well as collections policy to include the its cultural importance—the entire collection of important works of field of American illustration art is American illustration in addition to now poised for reconsideration by the Museum’s Rockwell holdings. the art world. The Norman Rockwell This landmark vote will ensure that Museum will be at the vanguard of the Museum will not only continue this reappraisal and looks forward to celebrate Norman Rockwell, but to building one the finest illustra- will create a context in which to better tion collections in the nation. 3 director’s report continued Newsworthy Events made enormous strides this year. One of the year’s most exciting The curatorial team has nearly happenings was the unanticipated completed the scanning and digitiza- discovery of Norman Rockwell’s 1954 tion of the Museum’s collection of Breaking Home Ties cover painting for more than 18,000 negatives. Once The Saturday Evening Post. What was digitized, the delicate negatives will believed to be the original painting be place in cold storage for longev- had been included in an exhibition ity and stability. The multi-phased at the Norman Rockwell Museum project includes the cataloguing of in 2003, the first time it had been all of Norman Rockwell’s business on public view for nearly 25 years. At correspondence, photographs, fan that time, museum and other experts mail, and ephemera. This impor- noted discrepancies between the tant research archive will then be painting and The Saturday Evening linked with the Museum’s art collec- Post tear sheet, but the impeccable tion in a database, making available provenance of the work, as well as all of the Museum’s collections to a long-held understanding among researchers and eventually they Rockwell experts that the work had will be accessible to a worldwide been damaged, outweighed these audience on the Internet. This concerns. A series of extraordinary year’s launch of the Museum’s newly events early this year revealed the designed and refreshed Web site is existence of a hidden original and well-timed for the future integra- an astonishing replica painted by the tion of collections data online. owner of the original. It was a real-life art mystery and the Museum had the Community Leadership opportunity to play a role in sleuthing The Norman Rockwell Museum is the outcome. We are delighted that committed to its role as a commu- Norman Rockwell’s masterful work nity leader and is working together has been recovered from obscurity. with Hancock Shaker Village, The Berkshire Economic Development ProjectNORMAN, the Museum’s Corporation, our elected State del- online digital art and archive project, egation, the John Adams Innovation 4 Institute, and a wide range of repre- tell the whole story about an organi- sentatives from the region’s artistic, zation’s health and effectiveness, but cultural and business communities they are a helpful barometer of its to create a strategic business plan efficiency. Each year, the Association for the Berkshire creative economy. of Art Museum Directors, a consor- This economy is the wellspring of tium of the nation’s art museums, businesses, individuals, and orga- publishes a statistical data survey of nizations who contribute to the key benchmarks, based on reports region’s employment base through from the nation’s premier art muse- the production of creative and artistic ums, ranging from the Metropolitan output. The Berkshires have long Museum of Art in New York and the been a fertile ground for creative National Gallery in Washington, enterprise. A haven and retreat for D.C., to smaller, regional museums artists like Norman Rockwell and such as ours. Based on the AAMD the utopian Shakers, it continues to survey results, I am pleased to note be a place of beauty to live, work, that the Norman Rockwell Museum, vacation and visit, inspired by the located in a rural location, with lean beauty of the countryside and the resources, yet serving a worldwide richness of its artistic heritage. audience, is one of the nation’s most financially efficient museums. Museum Resources The Norman Rockwell Museum Following is a sampling of how the conducts an impressive amount of cre- Norman Rockwell Museum ranks ative activity and preserves one of the among its peer group from 2005 data.