SUMME",O rt 0 i 0 NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM BOARD OF TRUSTEES FROM THE DIRECTOR Daniel M . Cain, President Perri Petricca , First Vice President Michelle Gi llett, Second Vice President Steven Spielberg, Third Vice Presiden t James W. Ireland, Treasurer Dear Museum friends, recently signed legislation to make Norman Peter Williams, Clerk Ann Fitzpatrick Brown, Deputy Clerk Rockwell the Official State Artist! (See What a wonderful year it's been! From the page 11.) Clarke Bailey White House to the Massachusetts State Lil lian Bender Ruby Bridges Hall House to Orlando, Florida, the Norman Sharing Rockwell's Legacy campaign Alice Carter Rockwell Museum continues to be at the is on the road. My travels have included Mary & Robert Crowell Catharine B. Deely center of many exciting projects! Houston and San Antonio, Texas, and Peter de Seve Southwest Florida, from Naples to Tampa, Walter & Mary Jo Engels In February, I represented the Museum at where trustees Lee Williams and Ann John V. Frank Mark Gold the White House to celebrate the launch Brown hosted events. In the coming Dr. Mary Grant of an exciting program by the National years, I will be traveling to many places Steven Hirsch Endowment for the Humanities and the across the country and hope to personally George & Valerie Kennedy Pame la Kinsey American Library Association. Norman meet many of our national membership. Mark Krentzman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech was selected Also, for those of you who live far from Deborah S. McMenamy Wendell Minor as one of 40 works of art in a new educa­ Stockbridge, the Museum has more than Anne Morgan tion program, "Picturing America," which a dozen exhibitions traveling the nation. Barbara Nessim uses art, architecture and decorative arts Duncan Pollock Thomas L. Pulling to study American history and culture. The New York Times featured the Norman Cynthia Rockwell (See page 6.) Rockwell Museum in two recent articles. Mark Selkowitz John Spellman In May, a wonderful Times story captured Richard B. Wilcox Verizon Corporation donated their iconic the Norman Rockwell Museum family Lee Williams painting The Lineman to the Museum, experience, called "Museums That Speak Jamie Williamson where it had been on loan to us for 15 to Children" and, in March, the Museum TRUSTEES EMER ITI years, thanks to a corporate relationship was featured in an article about American Lila Wilde Berle with Board President Dan Cain and the single artist museums. Jane P. Fitzpatrick Paul Ivory Museum's long-time art ties with the phone Norma G. Ogden company. A press announcement was made Catch campaign fever this summer as David L. Klausmeyer at the Museum on March 12 with Verizon the Museum celebrates the Commander Henry H. Williams, Jr. executives and working lineman in atten­ in Chief through the eyes of Norman Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO dance at the event. (See page 9.) Rockwell and political satirist Steve portfolio Brodner in two exhibitions that honor Volume 24, Issue 1, Summer 2008 American Chronicles: The Art of Norman the spirit of American democracy. Kimberly Rawson, Edi tor Jeremy Clowe, Editoria l Assistant Rockwell closed in Ohio, with the largest Toni Kenny, Pablo Zalles exhibition attendance ever at the Akron Raw Nerve! The Political Art of Steve Graphic Design Art Museum. The exhibition has also Brodner is a timely glimpse into the wild Contact us bye-mail at: been tremendously popular at its second world of political campaigns. Don't miss [email protected] stop at the Orlando Museum of Art in our July 17 program at 5:30 p.m., when Mr. Portfolio is published by Norman Rock­ Florida. Many NRM member events were Bradner will speak about the 2008 presiden­ well Museum at Stockbridge, Inc. , and hosted this winter in Florida, including at tial campaign fram his unique perspective. is sent free to all members. © 2008 by Norman Rockwell Museum at Stock­ Fort Myers Beach, Vero Beach, Sarasota, bridge. All rights reserved . and Orlando. The exhibition, which will An installation of artist-designed garden Cover: David Woad, Molly Rockwell, tour 12 cities in the coming years, is gen­ gates will adorn our paths and lawns this and Barbara Socha Perke/. Photo by erating a large amount of national press summer. Save the date for our intimate Clemens Kalischer. coverage as it travels. (See page 9.) Garden Gates Garden Party on July 10. We look forward to seeing you at the Museum! What do Norman Rockwell and the ~V' ..... , (;rn \ Accredited by the chickadee have in common? They are " ~. j Ameri can Association of Museums. both official icons of the Commonwealth ' ... 4CltiJ'~ Kids Free Every Day! A Gift to Fa mi lies from of Massachusetts. Governor Deval Patrick O>unqyCurtains. and ThE RED LrnNINN 2 PORTFOLIO Capturing Stockbridge: Norman Rockwell's unintentional record of the people and places of Stockbridge, Massachusetts by Linda Szekely Pew Without deliberately time. Financial records, however, document a number of intending to do so, payments to New York City modeling agencies during Norman Rockwell Rockwell's Stockbridge years. In one case, when he needed spent the last 25 years to pose a nude for his painting of a lobsterman with a of his life chronicling mermaid as his catch and felt he could not ask a local the people and places woman to pose, Rockwell hired a professional model. The of Stockbridge, majority, though, were local people from Stockbridge and Massachusetts. When the neighboring town of Lenox and city of Pittsfield. Rockwell moved to Stockbridge in Rockwell's financial records give us the date, model's name, 1953 , he immediately commission, and fee paid for each session. In many cases, began hiring town Rockwell used models for multiple images, that is, he residents to pose for repeatedly commissioned certain children or adults for his commissions. The different assignments. While living in ew Rochelle, ew treasure of images and York, and later in Arlington, Vermont, he talked about having records that document posing sessions resides within the favorite models, and this trend seems to have held true for archives of the orman Rockwell Museum. Stockbridge. We are compiling models' names as recorded by Rockwell and will, whenever called for, add subsequent name For the next several years, the Museum will organize and changes. Our records will be reconciled with the town's to digitize this image collection, with the goal of making it verify citizenship and spelling (Rockwell was notorious for accessible to researchers and historians seeking information bad spelling and his handwriting was often illegible). about Stockbridge and its residents, and the role they played in Rockwell's creative process-a role exemplified in A common regret of Rockwell models is that their image was such paintings as Home for Christmas (Stockbridge Main never used in a Rockwell painting. Often a variety of people Street at Christmastime), Stockbridge in Springtime, and were posed and photographed for the same character before The New American La France is Here. Early in his career Rockwell decided which person to use in the final image. as an illustrator, Rockwell relied on professional models, Sometimes a person's likeness served as a departure point often out-of-work actors, but when he moved to Vermont for a fictitious character. The archives hold many of these in 1939, distance mandated posing neighbors most of the photographic choices and financial records of most sessions. SUMMER 2008 3 Rockwell was careful to pay models by check, in order to painting Stockbridge in Springtime, and St. Joseph's appears have a record of payment. Along with a signed "Model in photos of Elm Street taken but never used. Interior views of Release," the check represented a contractual agreement the town clerk's office on Main Street are captured in photos between model and artist that the likeness could be used for Marriage License, a 1955 Saturday Evening Post cover. The commercially andlhat all rights were relinquished to the office of Dr. Donald Campbell, the town's beloved family artist. The session became a work for hire, and copyrights doctor, is remembered in photos taken for Rockwell's 1958 Post belonged to Rockwell. cover Before the Shot. The ambiance of a 1950S lunch counter, for the 1958 Post cover The Runaway, is captured in photos of Because so many cats and dogs appear in Rockwell pictures, Francis Lis's nearby Housatonic restaurant. an attempt to idenlify lhem also will be made. Many were Rockwell family pels, some were neighbors' pets, and others The metadata that accompanies Rockwell 's records were renled from a Lee, NIassachusetts, veterin arian, Dr. of model ing sessions is an added source of interesting Bernard Collins. When a painting called for a specific breed, information about Rockwell's methods, including working such as the malamutes pictured ill the 1964 Brown & titles for pictures, how many projects overlapped, and fees Bigelow Four Seasons calendar illustration of the salesman paid to models. When he lived in Vermont, where he shared trying to sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo family, Rockwell models with several Saturday Evening Post cover artists, a fonnd a breeder. common complaint was that Rockwell lured models away with higher wages. Rockwell 's sons say he chronically overpaid For Slockbridge residents, viewing Rockwell's reference people-for everything. Generally, prices for photo sessions photos for Home for Christmas, the painting of the town's in the late 1950S were $ 5 or $10 for children and $10 or $20 Main Street that was published as a ga tefold in McCall's for adults. Models who traveled from out of town were paid December 1967 issue, is a wa lk down memory lane.