Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

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4IWOULD LIKE TO TAKE YOUthrough a day in the life ofthe Norman RockwellMuseum to show you some ofwhat occurs behind the scenebefore we open the doors towelcome you, to the time weturn out the lights. Come withme now as we start the day.It is early in the morning, andmembers of our facility staffarrive. A team of four, headed byBill Boyer, takes care of ourbuildings, grounds, and security.Each day brings new adventures.At this quiet hour, the crewexpect to find deer munching onour shrubs and wild turkeysscratching about, but today theunexpected has happened.Snapping turtles are determinedlymoving over thegrounds! They are beingrounded up in the tractor bucketand returned to the HousatonicRiver that surrounds our museumgrounds.Inside the museum, preopeningactivities are underway.The cleaning crew is polishingthe final touches before theyleave by 10:00 o'clock. WeA Day in the Life of theNorman Rockwell MuseumLaurie Norton Moffatt, DirectorDay in the Life of a Little Girl, oil on canvas,Saturday Evening Post, August 30, 1952, cover.won't have time to meetall of our staff, so let'speek in on a few whorarely are seen by thepublic.Let's start in thecuratorial department,-g under the direction of~~ curator Maureen Hart~ Hennessey. The curators~ are responsible for every[ step of exhibition~ planning, from choicer and installation of the~ exhibit, to all the related~ written materialso~ identification labels,~ posters, and brochures.~ Once an exhibition~ opening date has been'--_____________________ ---' J publicized, it is inflex-In 1952, Norman Rockwell painted two Saturday EveningPost covers showing the life of a little boy and the life of a littlegirl from their wake-up moments until their bedtime. Eachpainting depicted over twenty scenes from their day.ible, and the entireexhibit team is totally focusedon opening day. If you peer in aground floor office and see .someone working at her computerscreen, with phone to herear and pencil in hand, you mayhave just glimpsed our curatorMaureen.Gary Eveland, our preparator,is in charge of the physicalinstallation of an exhibition.Gary's area is where framing isdone, rental slides and photosare filed, and art that is notcurrently on exhibit in ourgalleries is stored. YesterdayGary returned from transportingartwork from New YorkCity for a new exhibit, and todayhe will start framing some of the100 pieces. When he finishes, hewill design the lighting andbegin hanging the works withthe curators and facility crew.Gary also takes care of our artcollection. If you catch sight ofsomeone with a hammer andmeasuring tape, and a lightfixture under his arm, you'veundoubtedly met ourpreparator.While we are still on themuseum's lower level, I'll takeyou into the archives andreference center. The assistantcurator, Linda Szekely, is incharge of this section. Thearchives area is the repositoryfor all of Norman Rockwell'spersonal papers, photographs,negatives, magazine tear sheets,and items far too numerous tomention. Volunteers MargeryHall and Robert Kuhner assistLinda with many donated hoursin cataloguing the archives,along with Cris Raymond whoalso is editor of The Portfolio.The reference center is themuseum library, open to thepublic three afternoons a week.Authors, researchers, grandchildrenin search of a painting thatthey "know" grandpa once
5Framed, SaturdayEvening Post,March 2, 1946,cover,whereaboutsunknown.posed for, and anyone whothinks he has an originalRockwell painting might becalling Linda today. Every itemin Norman Rockwell's studio isunder the care of this department;in addition, museumarchival exhibits, which are verypopular with the public, areorganized from here. If youshould happen to meet someonewith a magnifying glass in onehand examining a vintagephotograph while referencingthe Definitive Catalogue, youprobably have just seen Linda.We'll go out the library door,but please be careful not tobump into the rolling carts inthe hallway. The warehouse,staffed by Allen Bell and EdMcHugh, is a busy center thatreplenishes the stocks in thestore, receives shipments,circulates the inter-office mailand processes the many printrequests received through thepost and via e-mail. Right nowthey are loading new items totake upstairs to the museumstore and stacking packages totake to the post office. Theyhave to be out of the way beforeopening time, as visitors havebeen known to want to buyitems right off the carts!Before we proceed up the stairs,have a quick look into theclassrooms. On weekends andholidays, these rooms are themost exciting place to be. Createa drawing, make a puppet, buildwith clay, fold paper animals,and above all learn and have funwith Melinda Georgeson,manager of youth services. Ifyou see an artist going down thehall carrying pots of paint wholooks like she is having the besttime, it's Melinda.Maud Ayson, associatedirector for education andprogram, oversees the museum'spublic and education programs,and, with her staff, plans theseminars attended by teachersfrom all over the country. Also,Maud is in charge of the teamthat meets daily with our public.She scoots between her downstairsoffice and the upstairsgalleries checking to makecertain that everything is runningsmoothly. If you think youhave seen Maud, you are probablymistaken, unless you aremoving very quickly!We are upstairs at the museumnow and still have time topop into the museum storebefore it opens. Jo AnnLosinger, director of marketing,is examining some new itemsselected to appeal to our visitors,and is looking over the collectionof signed prints thatNorman Rockwell left for us toraise funds for art acquisition.The store windows have justbeen artfully decorated for theseason. The entire area is sobeautifully arranged that it is nowonder that this is one of themost popular areas of themuseum for visitors who want totake a memory home. You willfind Rockwell prints, books, Tshirts, children's art supplies,and even NR's favorite oatmealcookies.Sara Andenmatten, Josie Ellisand the store staff advise andcare for our visitors. But, pleasedo not peek behind the counterbecause you just might find arow of shoes on the bottomshelf! At the end of a hectic day,our sales staff still have smilingfaces but often very tired toes asthey close up for the day.We have to hurry because I hearthe buses coming into theparking lot. We expect 20 bustours to arrive today, in additionto our individual guests. Ourvisitor services assistants, frontdesk personnel and guides maybe greeting over 1,500 peopletoday. Bus tours are arrangedand coordinated with JosephAubert, Jane Salvatore, AbigailDiamant and Kim Conley, butoccasionally an unexpected tourarrives and everyone has to beon the alert. At such times, extragallery tours are added to theregular hourly ones, and to keepthe flow of visitors movingsmoothly, some groups areasked to visit the studio first.Flexibility is the rule of the day.The grandfather clock in thehall is ringing ten o'clock andthe museum is ready to open.Let's slip out the terrace doorand stroll over the beautifulgrounds to Linwood House,where the administration officesare located.
Page 1: -T heNormanRockwellMuseumat Stockb1
Page 6 and 7: 6On the ground floor ofLinwood we f
Page 8 and 9: 8Heart's Dearest,Woman's HomeCompan
Page 10 and 11: 10Twain's hometown, to sketchthe to
Page 12 and 13: 12A Move to the Country:Rockwell in
Page 14 and 15: 14jected halfueartedly, acceptedthe
Page 16 and 17: Wake- Up Your CollectionJo Ann Losi
Page 18 and 19: For AdultsSaturdays, April 4, 25 an

Spring 1998 - Norman Rockwell Museum

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