Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

10Twain's hometown, to sketchthe town and the mighty riverthat were the settings for bothbooks. With a strong sense ofplace and the authentic detailsgathered on the trip, Rockwellwas able to create the memorableillustrations that, for somany people, are the definitiveportraits of Tom and Huck.Two years later, a commissionto illustrate a biography ofLouisa May Alcott, author ofLittle Women, took Rockwell toAlcott's home in Concord,Massachusetts, now. a museum."Sitting in her bedroom, whereeverything was just as it hadbeen when she was alive, I had areal sense of the period ... And Ithink I did better illustrationsbecause of it."As a result of these importantseries of story and book illustrations,Rockwell was again ableto tell his own stories throughcover illustration. The Postcovers done between 1936 and1939 include some of his mosthumorous and memorable ones.He continued as an importantcover artist, even though hisgreat friend and supporter, Posteditor George Horace Lorimer,left the magazine in 1936. Thehard realities of life depictingeconomic difficulties still didnot appear on the magazine'scover. Like many movies of thetime, Rockwell's humorousimages focused on happier andperhaps simpler times.By the late 1930s, Rockwell'swanderlust again began tosurface. "When I've lived in oneplace for too long, ideas beginto come harder. Things godead for me because I'm toofamiliar with them. Theybecome a pattern. I need achange." A family vacation tripto England in 1938, whichincluded a memorable meetingwith the illustrator ArthurRackham, was not enough tostem the tide. The Englishcountryside reminded Rockwellof his youthful summers spenton upstate New York farms. Ontheir return, Mary and Normandrove to Vermont to look atfarms, with the intention offinding a summer retreat. Theirfirst idyllic summer in Arlington,Vermont, however, convincedthem that a better lifecould be found there for theirfamily. New models and newstory lines presented themselvesto the illustrator daily. In 1939,the Rockwell family moved toArlington full-time.Although the United Stateswas not yet involved, the end ofthe 1930s found a world warraging, All of the influences andfactors of the 1930s-marriageand family, Lorimer's retirementfrom the Post, and themove to Arlington-hadbrought Norman Rockwellthrough a time of personal andprofessional challenges but stillleft him singularly unaffected bythe crises of the outside world.In the 1940s, this would change.The Second World War wouldpresent Norman Rockwell withhis greatest professional opportunitiesand challenges and establishhim as not only the leadingillustrator but perhaps the mostpopular artist of the time.The quotations in this article are fromNorman Rockwell. My Adventures asan Illustrator. published in 1988 by HarryN. Abrams. Incorporated. New York.Southwest SojournON SEPTEMBER 8-19, TI-ffi NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM,the Berkshire Museum and the Bennington Museum are co-sponsoringa trip to the Southwest. Join this three-museum excursion toPhoenix, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Zion and BryceNational Parks and the Acoma Indian Reservation.This tour to the important museums of the Southwest, nativeAmerican Indian sites and National Parks has been organized byMaureen Johnson Hickey, Ed.D., Director, Berkshire Art Gallery.The Southwest trip with a tour leader features first-class accommodations,fine restaurants, a private coach, and tours to themuseums and the most interesting sites of the area. Departure willbe on Northwest Airlines from Hartford to Phoenix with the returnout of Albuquerque.For a.detailed itinerary, please call Maureen Johnson Hickey at413-528-2690.Saturday June 6thSAVE THE DATEDo we have a New Deal for You!Come to The Blue Skies Clubat the Norman Rockwell MuseumRelive (or discover for the first time!) the BigBand sound of the 1930's. Dance the LindyHop and dine under a tent on the museumterrace. Happy Days are here again at TheBlue Skies Club! Invitation to follow.For advance reservations call 413-2 9 8-4120